Beth
by readbetweenthesigns
Summary: <html><head></head>This is the story of how Beth Corcoran found out who she is and where she came from... Rated M for safety</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: How did my life begin? How did I get here? Beth Corcoran wants to know...**

"I have decided, from now on, that I shall call you Shelby," Beth Corcoran informed her mother. There was a little sting of animosity in her words, in her tone of voice. She still wasn't entirely pleased with her mother's veto on searching for her birth parents.

"Is that so?" Shelby Corcoran asked, she displayed very little interest in her daughter's latest mood swing, her latest attempt at flexing her fledgling wings. Shelby knew that soon enough, Beth would regain her sunny temperament and apologise for all the nasty things that she'd said in an attempt to hurt the woman who had brought her up and had loved her like no other.

"Yes, and when I do finally get to meet my birth parents, I shall call her mom and him dad," Beth added and sniffed before she rose from the stool at the breakfast bar to continue getting ready for school. "At least look pissed off then," she thought as she watched her mother continue to study the newspaper, continue to sip her coffee, just continue to do everyday things, despite the fact that Beth's world had just shattered.

"Fine," Shelby replied, distracted by a piece in the Lima section of the Allen County Gazette. "Holy crap," Shelby thought to herself as she studied the picture and the write up. "If Beth sees this she's going to know who her mother is, Jesus, I'd forgotten how much like Quinn she looks. And Noah, she has his smile. Crap, look at them. So freakin' happy together. At least something worked out for them."

* * *

><p>"Did you see this?" Robyn Sylvester hissed when she found Beth at her locker. "Didn't I tell you?"<p>

"Tell me what?" Beth asked, she was purely pretending disinterest, she desperately wanted to see what Robyn had to show her.

"Look at her," Robyn instructed and thrust the newspaper clipping in front of Beth's eyes. "Tell me you aren't the double of her, Quinn...something or other, I forget," she muttered then grabbed the piece back to check the name again. "Puckerman, Quinn Puckerman," Robyn finished triumphantly and nudged her glasses back up her nose. "I told you, I found all this information in my mothers journals, she doesn't give real names unfortunately, I don't think anyone was ever dumb enough to name their child Snotball, do you?" she asked, her face screwed up rather comically.

"I would hope not," Beth replied. She'd always liked this kid, sure she was a couple of years younger than herself, but there was an affinity there, a connection, something almost inevitable about their friendship. Like they had known each other before, in another lifetime, in another universe. "Oh there you go again, Miss Fantasia," Beth mocked herself. Her mother was always telling her that life did not revolve around books, she had to do something physical too. "Mother, ha, that's a stretch." Beth looked up as the bell went to denote the next lesson.

* * *

><p>"Hello, class," Quinn Puckerman said with a warm and welcoming smile. "I am your new English teacher," she announced and turned to write her name on the whiteboard. "There are a few things that I expect of every student in my class. I don't have unreasonable expectations," she explained as she wrote her simple rules underneath her name. "I expect everyone to turn up on time, I expect everyone to have their books and their homework with them. I expect everyone to act with courtesy, politeness and I expect people to be honest."<p>

Beth gulped as she read the name. Quinn Puckerman. _Quinn. Puckerman. _Quinn Puckerman. She gulped again and raised her hand. "Excuse me," she said quietly, her voice sounded muffled, it sounded as though it had come from someone else. "Excuse me?" she repeated, a little clearer when it was obvious that Ms Puckerman hadn't heard her.

"Yes?" Quinn responded to the young blonde girl in the middle row, the one with her hand raised in the air. The one who looked as though she could have been modelled from Quinn herself. Quinn felt a shiver go down her back, she gulped and automatically, in a sub-conscious gesture, her hand drifted protectively to her stomach. "Yes?" she repeated, trying desperately to keep her smile from quivering.

"May I ask you something?" Beth asked, she was following Quinn's request for politeness.

"Yes," Quinn replied, although her tone held a touch of uncertainty.

Beth suddenly clammed up, she didn't know if she could say it out loud. What if she was wrong? What if everyone laughed at her? What if she was right? What _if _she was right? "Doesn't matter," she croaked and sank lower down in her seat, slightly embarrassed, a lot hurt when she heard the mutters and the giggles from the popular girls at the back of the class.

"Ok, let's begin," Quinn sighed, she felt like she'd just dodged a bullet and it took a moment to get her concentration back. Pretty soon she was in the swing of the class, up to speed with the curriculum, she assessed each student's level and need. The class seemed endless and by the time the bell rang, Quinn was exhausted.

"Ms Puckerman?" Beth muttered beside Quinn's desk, out of earshot of any of her classmates.

"Yes, sweetie?" Quinn replied, hoping like hell that Beth hadn't heard the tremor in her voice.

"Are you my..." Beth began to say but broke off to gulp back a bubble of nausea. "Are you my mother?" she asked faintly. Her mouth dried up as she saw the teacher's face drain of colour, saw her sink to her seat as though her knees had given way.

"Erm, what did...what did your mother tell you?" Quinn asked, unable to make and maintain eye contact with the girl. She shuffled a few papers on her desk, busied her hands to stop herself from grabbing Beth and holding her so tight.

"Nothing, she told me nothing," Beth replied, she sounded weary, drained. "I found out just a couple of weeks ago, that I'm adopted," she explained. "And my mother, Shelby," she substituted the name, it was annoying her to call Shelby 'mother', "refused to give me any details, she says I have to wait till I'm eighteen," she sneered.

"So maybe you should abide by that?" Quinn suggested, she didn't want to go against Shelby again, she'd done that before with disastrous consequences.

"What? And lose another six years with my natural parents?" Beth demanded, shocked at the answer.

"I think that maybe you should talk to your mom again, maybe ask her if she would share some details with you," Quinn advised, she was trembling, her knees were literally knocking together underneath her desk, it was almost comical. Beth sighed heavily and left to go to her next class. Quinn heaved a huge sigh of relief that she had a free period.

* * *

><p>"And it was definitely her?" Puck demanded as Quinn regaled him of her day across the dinner table.<p>

"Oh yes, she hasn't changed a bit," Quinn said with a contented sigh. "Her hair maybe isn't as blonde as when she was little, but she still has your dopey smile," she grinned.

"You love my smile," Puck murmured as he came around the table to take Quinn in his arms. "You've always loved my smile," he reminded her. "This smile can make your panties drop at fifty paces, that's what you told me," he said in almost a sing-song voice.

"Ooops," Quinn gasped, as between them they made her panties fall to the floor. "I guess it does," she admitted and sucked in a breath as Puck fell to his knees in front of her. "Mmmm," she moaned as Puck's tongue worked it's magic on her to relieve her of her day's worries. "Oh God," she sighed when he guided her to lay back across the table top. When he entered her, all she could do was groan with pleasure, lay back and enjoy the ride. Perfect. As always.

* * *

><p>"I think I met her today," Beth mumbled to her mother as they sat together, the uncomfortable atmosphere was not conducive to good meal time chatter. Or digestion.<p>

Shelby was so tempted, so very tempted. "Did you?" she asked, instead of asking 'who', like she'd wanted to. "Did you say anything to her?" she fished.

"I asked her if she was my mother," Beth confirmed and looked at Shelby with angry, mistrustful eyes.

"I should have told her from the start," Shelby remonstrated herself yet again. "Rachel always said, I should have told her from the start, it was only a matter of time till she found out."

"Are you talking to yourself?" Beth asked as she became aware of her mother muttering something under her breath. "And who's Rachel?"

Shelby almost sobbed. "Rachel is the daughter I gave birth to, twenty-eight years ago," she announced and felt a humongous weight lift from her shoulders. Shelby took a breath, amazed to feel how easy it was, her chest wasn't tight, she didn't feel like she was about to cave in, about to collapse. Wow. If only she had done this years ago.

"Wait a minute," Beth cried, her face showing her disgust. "You gave a baby away, then you took me from _my _parents and refuse to tell me who they are?" she demanded, absolutely astonished. "I mean, like, how can that happen?"

"Beth, it's not like that," Shelby tried to say, she wanted to explain, really she did, but she couldn't find the words to say, how to start it. "Ok, let's calm things down here, let me just, Beth, I need you to listen to me, without interrupting, without getting on your high-horse, can you do that?" she asked. Beth gulped and nodded. She felt a little afraid, but she really needed to know this, all of it, she had to know her beginnings, where she came from. Beth really hoped that she wasn't the result of something bad.

"Ok. So, thirty years ago, I was a struggling actress," Shelby began, taking it right back to the very beginning. "Let's go in the den, get comfortable, I think this is going to take a while," she said, interrupting herself. The two of them went, they took their drinks with them, Shelby her wine, Beth her juice. "Like I said, I was a struggling actress, I went to audition after audition, after audition. No one wanted me, a slightly gawky, slightly too tall Jewish girl with a nose that was too big for my face," she said with a self-mocking smile. "Anyway, there was an ad in the trade mags, asking for girls with specific talents to attend an interview in Lima, Ohio," she announced, remembering the day when she told her room mate that she was going for it.

_"Are you freakin' nuts?" Gail shrieked at her. "Who the hell are these people? They could be murderers, rapists, anything," she yelled._

_"But it's at least a year's work," Shelby cried, "I have to do it, I have to take a chance because if I don't get this, it's game over, I have to go back to Georgia," she reminded Gail. "I only have a month left, that's it. My mom said, if something didn't happen in two years, it was never going to and this might be my last chance," she said with urgency, desperation. "I have to take the chance."_

"When I got to Lima, I must admit, I was very nervous, all the ridiculous and dire things that Gail had warned me of came flashing to the front of my mind, it was a very scary day," Shelby explained, a hint of a laugh in her voice. "Anyway, I met with the people who had placed the ad, Hiram and LeRoy Berry," she added and risked a glance at her daughter, Beth was listening intently but trying not to show it. "The job was a bit weird," she admitted, "they were looking for a surrogate," she explained, "they wanted a woman who would carry a child for them then leave. I agreed to do it," she said softly. Beth gasped. "Neither of the men wanted to know which of them was actually the biological father," Shelby laughed and rolled her eyes at how embarrassed the two men had been, "so they mixed their sperm together and it was inserted into me, using a turkey baster, of all things," she laughed, "and we waited to see if it had worked.

"It took five attempts to actually attain a pregnancy," Shelby said, continuing with her story after taking a sip of her wine. "And nine months later I gave birth to a baby girl, I got to hold her for a minute and then she was taken away, as per the agreement. I received a large sum of money, enough to fund me for several years so I went back to New York, back to Broadway and I never returned to Georgia," she said, with touch of pride. "My mother never spoke to me again, she was disgusted with me, apparently, for selling my baby to two gay men," she added the extra information, "but actually, she did belong to one of them, we just didn't know which one," she shrugged. "When I got back, I used some of the money to tidy up my nose a little, got myself a better apartment, hit all the auditions and took Broadway by storm. God knows, if I'd just waited it out, maybe it still would have happened, maybe it wouldn't, I'll never know," she sighed and sipped her wine again.

"Anyway, the years passed," Shelby said, missing out a lot of the highlights of her life as unneccessary, they weren't exactly bed time story material for a twelve-year-old, "I decided I wanted to settle down, have children, so I tried. It just never happened for me," she said sadly. "Something had happened to my uterus during the delivery and I couldn't carry another child, I could get pregnant, but I couldn't carry a child to term. Around about the tenth or so miscarriage, my OB advised me to stop trying," she said through a huge lump in her throat. Beth felt her eyes fill with tears, she felt such sadness for the babies that her mother had wanted but lost. "By this time, Broadway was long past for me, I had found a teaching position, in Akron, Ohio, at Carmel High School, I was their show choir coach," she said with pride. "We were champions, no one could beat us, no one," she insisted and paused for a second to savour the feelings, the memories of all those wins.

"And then one day, this girl appeared in the auditorium," Shelby continued, her voice had taken on a sad, melancholy note. Beth looked at her, she was barely blinking, sat as she was with her legs curled under her, her wine glass touching her lip, still more than half full. "The instant I saw her, I knew," she said and in that moment, Shelby knew the exact feeling that Quinn Fabray must have felt today when her daughter sat down in her class. "I knew who she was, it was like my body knew who she was," she said with a sob that caught in her throat. "My entire being remembered her and I had missed her so much," she whispered, the tears fell unchecked. "I never knew how much I had missed her until I saw her and she was so beautiful," she added with a teary smile. Shelby took a moment to get herself together. "But it was never right," she sighed. "I was looking for my baby, and she was looking for a mother," she said sadly, "and neither of us knew how to be what the other was looking for."

"So what happened?" Beth asked in a husky voice, after Shelby had been lost in thought for a while.

"Sorry," Shelby apologised and shook herself to move on. "So, our two teams met in Regionals that year," she explained, taking up the story again. "Rachel was in a team, New Directions," she added and waited for the penny to drop, it did, Beth was amazed that Lima's world famous show choir group was the one that her mother's daughter was in. "And I coached Vocal Adrenaline," she added with pride, back in the day, Vocal Adrenaline had been the team to beat, before New Directions had taken the crown and held on to it for the last twelve years or so. "We crushed them that year, knocked them out of the competition at Regionals," she said firmly. "But the only thing that it made me want was to get out, see, I knew that your birth mother had gone into labour while she was out on stage," she said, shifting to look at Beth as she got to the nitty-gritty of the story. "Right, your birth parents, Noah Puckerman and Quinn Fabray," she said the names out loud for the first time in years, "they were both in New Directions with Rachel, with my daughter, and after the performance, Rachel came to see me, talk to me, and that was when we realised that we were looking for different things. She was the one who let slip that you were about to be born, I had overheard some stuff, an argument between Puck and Quinn, he was begging her to keep you, she was telling him she couldn't trust him, all crappy, emotional, teenage stuff," she scoffed, dismissing the moment to get to better things. "I left my team, I went to the hospital and I found them, staring at you through the glass. I heard Quinn ask Puck if he had loved her, it was such a sweet moment, I don't think they realised that they were being observed or overheard, but anyway, she asked him, he told her the most beautiful thing, he never took his eyes off you but he said yes, especially now and I always thought that was beautiful. I could see then, when they looked at each other, I knew, if I didn't step in then, I knew, they would have kept you, they would have found a way, so I stepped up to the nursery window too, and I interrupted what could have been a defining moment for them, and I wanted you so, so much," she sniffed, the emotion had built up to overflowing.

"The very first time I laid eyes on you, you stole my heart," Shelby told her daughter, and risked a touch to the young girl's chin. "You were laid in one of those awful fish bowl cribs," she said with a roll of her eyes, "I asked if you had a name, Quinn said no but Puck said Beth, he said it with such feeling that I decided there and then, if I was lucky enough to get you, you were going to be called Beth, so really your birth father named you," she smiled. Beth gulped and felt a little closer to the people who had tossed her aside, given her away. And closer to her mother.

"I moved away as soon as the paperwork was signed. Quinn cried the whole time, when we were with the lawyers, Puck did too, though he tried not to show it. I think even both of their mothers did, I seem to remember that they did. I know I did, maybe I just think everyone cried. But anyway, you were in the lawyers office with us, and once the papers were signed, Puck asked if he could hold you one last time, just for a minute, I agreed and when he picked you up, it was like you knew, you knew something was happening. He held you so gently, so tenderly, you'd been asleep in a car seat and even when he picked you up, you didn't wake up, but just when he was about to kiss your forehead, you opened your eyes and stretched and your little head went back and he kissed your lips, it was beautiful. Just for a moment, he and Quinn held you together, between them, it was an emotional thing, even for their moms, I think, but just for a moment, they had an arm around each other, they had an arm each around you and for that time, the three of you, you were a family. And I was jealous so I said that I had to get you home, we had to get on our way, I always felt guilty about that," she admitted and wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

Beth wasn't really sure that she could listen to any more, she felt so full of emotions, raging, swirling emotions, emotions that she didn't know how to deal with. "Mom?" she said nervously. "Mom, do you think we could talk to them? Tomorrow, maybe?" she asked.

"I think that might be a wise choice," Shelby agreed after a moment. She would probably need some time to get herself back under control. "Are you going up already?" she asked as Beth headed for the stairs.

"Have you seen the time?" Beth asked her mom. "And I've got school tomorrow," she reminded her. Shelby blew Beth a kiss, she missed the days when Beth would voluntarily kiss her mom before going to bed, it didn't happen at all these days.

* * *

><p>"Rachel, hi," Shelby said with a smile as her daughter answered her phone. "Do you have time to talk?" she asked.<p>

"Sure, Shelby, what's up?" Rachel asked as she checked her stage make up, she was about to go on in front of a huge opening night audience.

"Do you have a number for Puck and Quinn?" Shelby asked after a moment's hesitation. There would be no going back after this because Rachel would surely share with her friends that the number had been sought and that would open up the possibility of the contacting Beth.

"I do, I can text the information to you," Rachel offered, her voice slightly distorted as she fixed a minor flaw in her super long eyelashes.

"Thanks, sweetie," Shelby replied and hung up after a brief good luck message to the amazingly talented, Rachel Berry. "Oh, crap, what have I done?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: So, if you loved me, why did you give me away?**

"Morning," Puck said as Quinn walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," Quinn yawned back. He was always so much brighter than her in the mornings and it pissed Quinn off just a bit. "Don't go flashing that smile at me," she grumbled, only just this side of teasing.

"I won't," Puck lied and then grinned at her as he ate his yogurt covered muesli.

"Blah, rabbit food," Quinn pouted. "Why can't you eat normal food like normal people? You know? Something I might want to take a bite of?" she muttered moodily.

"Who put you in a mood this morning?" Puck asked with a barely hidden snicker of laughter. "And I don't care what you say, eating pig for breakfast is _not_ normal," he repeated their recurring friendly argument. "_This_ is normal," he insisted and held the bowl out towards her.

"Blah," Quinn fake gagged, she picked up her coffee cup and headed back upstairs to take her usual leisurely shower.

"It's good for you," Puck called after her, same as he did most mornings. Quinn ignored him and his advice, same as she did most mornings.

* * *

><p>"Rach, how are you?" Puck answered when he picked up the call on Quinn's phone. "Nope, she's still in the shower," he told her. "School starts in just over an hour, she needs to get a rush on, hold on a sec," he said then pressed the phone to his chest to avoid deafening Rachel. "Quinn, Rachel, on the phone. No, your phone. Hang on, I'll ask," he yelled. "Quinn says is it important or can she call you back later, after school?" he asked then listened. "Holy crap," he said with a gulp. "Yeah, yeah, I know, Quinn said so, yeah, I'll tell her, yeah, thanks Rach," he waffled before ending the call. "Quinn," Puck yelled as he ran up the stairs. "Quinn?" he called again.<p>

"Where's the fire?" Quinn asked a little crossly, as Puck interrupted her usually relaxed morning routine. She wrapped one fluffy, white towel around her body and another around her head and stepped from the bathroom to the bedroom.

"Rachel said that Shelby called her last night, just before she went on stage," Puck explained breathlessly.

"So?" Quinn asked as she blinked a few times to check that her eyelash extensions were all still in place. Quinn peered closer into the mirror to check for wrinkles, crows feet, any sign of aging. Slowly, she dabbed her face and wished that Puck would get on with whatever he was so excited about.

"So?" Puck repeated, waiting for Quinn to catch up. He shook his head, sighed and rolled his eyes. "So," he said again, "so she called for _our _information, she called to ask Rachel for our numbers, our address. Don't you see what this means?" he asked, joyfully.

"Oh my God," Quinn whispered, her hand covered her mouth, her gaze flew to Puck's. "She said that she would, one day, didn't she? She said that she would, but yesterday, Beth told me that she'd said that she had to wait till she's eighteen," she cried.

"Maybe she's changed her mind," Puck suggested. "But please, don't...don't do anything or say anything at school, keep your distance," he advised.

"I will, I will," Quinn promised, but at the same time she was wondering how she possibly could. "I feel sick," she whispered and gulped hard before tearing back into the bathroom and losing what little was actually in her stomach.

"Gross," Puck sighed as he gagged and winced at the sounds coming from their bathroom. "You couldn't shut the door?" he asked quietly, glad that Quinn hadn't heard him. "Better?" he asked Quinn a few seconds later when she emerged, with her toothbrush in her mouth. Quinn nodded and made an unintelligable sound. "Well, whatever, but you need to get a wiggle on if I'm to drop you at school before I head in to the recruiting office," he encouraged.

* * *

><p>"Later," Puck murmured against Quinn's lips as he left her in the parking lot at Liberty Arts, where Quinn had just taken up the position of English teacher. The previous English teacher's misfortune had been Quinn's lucky break, but in order for them to come back to Lima for a while, for Puck to take the position in the recruiting office, they had been prepared for her to have to take work as a substitute for as long as necessary.<p>

"Later," Quinn replied and stole another kiss before she got out of the car.

"Is that your husband?" Robyn Sylvester asked curiously.

"Yes," Quinn answered, she gave the girl a slightly wary look, there was something far too 'Sue' about the girl, she gave Quinn the willies.

"He's hot," Robyn announced then walked away, headed towards the school entrance. Quinn stood, transfixed, unable to process what she'd just heard from the young girl. She stared after the retreating back and the huge backpack that it carried.

* * *

><p>"I saw your dad today," Robyn informed Beth with a certain amount of relish. "And he is one super hot hottie," she announced.<p>

"Like, ew, that's _my_ _dad _you're talking about," Beth replied with distaste. "And chill, you're like what? Ten? Eleven?" she asked.

"I'm nine, but I'm precocious," Robyn answered with a twitch of her shoulder. "I skipped two grades," she sighed, bored with the topic already.

"Fine," Beth sighed and realised why the young girl seemed so young. It was because she was young. "Did you bring any more of your mom's journals for me to read?" she asked.

"Yep," Robyn confirmed and delved into her backpack. "Here you go, September 2009 to June 2010. There's a lot of stuff in this one that relates directly to you," she informed her friend. "Actually, you're the reason the Cheerios didn't have Quinn Fabray as their leader at Nationals," she announced with authority.

"Cool," Beth muttered almost silently. "I knew something would have to be my fault."

* * *

><p>"Good morning," Quinn said as her class made themselves comfortable. "This morning we are going to look at the way a sentence can be totally changed just by adding punctuation," she explained and flicked on the ceiling projector. A sentence came up on the whiteboard. "How about this?" she asked. "Let's eat everyone," she read. "Who can tell me what we would use to change this sentence to something that doesn't make us sound like cannibals?" she smiled as the class tittered with laughter. Quinn glanced around. One hand rose hesitantly. "Beth," she said and held out the marker pen for Beth to come up and put whatever punctuation she thought would change the sentence.<p>

Beth approached the whiteboard cautiously. She knew that the popular girls would rag on her, she knew that the bully girls would too, she knew that she was never going to be Ms Popular and really, she didn't care about that. What she cared about was the sudden shot of electricity that went through her fingers when she'd accidentally touched Ms Puckerman's fingers when taking the pen. "I wonder if that's like my mom said, like our bodies know each other," she pondered silently. "I grew inside that stomach, right there, I was inside there. Oh my God I have heard her heart beating. From the inside."

"So what punctuation would you use?" Quinn encouraged when it looked like Beth had frozen for a second.

"I would use a comma, right here," Beth said and marked a comma. "So now it says let's eat, everyone," she read, giving a slight pause in just the right place.

"Well done," Quinn praised and smiled at the young girl, Beth smiled back. Quinn gulped when their eyes connected. How the hell was she supposed to stay away? This child here, this beautiful girl, this was her baby, her perfect thing. And she had missed her _so_ much. A few more students found the confidence to put their answers out there, to other phrases and sentences, the class had fun with some of the sentences, it was a great class and Quinn knew that, at least for the time being, they were captivated.

* * *

><p>"How was your day?" Puck asked when he collected Quinn from school.<p>

"Tiring," Quinn yawned and snuggled into her seat, she could still feel Puck's lips on hers, they tingled, she loved his kisses. "Beth was great in class today," she said with pride.

"Did she say anything?" Puck asked, a little nervously.

"No, nothing," Quinn sighed, she wondered how long she would have to stay silent. Forever, probably.

"My mom called," Puck said as he checked the traffic before turning left out of the parking lot. "She invited us to dinner tonight," he informed Quinn.

"Mmm, is she making her special barbecue chicken and roasted veggies?" Quinn asked with a hungry light shining in her eyes. "I love that, it's so delicious and she never gives me the recipe," she grumbled good naturedly. "Ah well, at least it gives her an excuse to invite us for dinner," she said with a shrug. "Did you tell her about Beth?" she asked.

"Yep," Puck nodded. "I told her, I thought it best to get it out there right now," he added and glanced to his side to see Quinn nodding. "What about you? Will you let Judy know?" he asked. Quinn shrugged, she wasn't sure. The relationship between mother and daughter had never quite recovered from the whole 'Beth situation'. Quinn had never quite forgiven her mother for discarding her, abandoning her, just exactly when she needed her mother more than ever, and Judy had never quite forgiven what she saw as Quinn's betrayal of her beliefs.

* * *

><p>"Hi," Ruth Puckerman called as she heard her son and daughter-in-law enter the house, the same house that Puck had taken Quinn to live in when Finn kicked her out. "Did you have a good day?" she asked automatically.<p>

"Yep," Puck answered as he led the way into the kitchen. "Signed up two high school drop outs," he informed them, "I wonder how they'll deal with basic," he snickered, remembering back to when he had first joined the air force, back when he thought he knew it all, the cocky, full-of-attitude showboater. His military training instructors had soon knocked that out of him. His intensive training to fly the huge aircraft that supported the jet pilots had done the rest to mature him. Puck took pride in his work, he loved flying, he loved that feeling of being in control.

"How are you enjoying being a desk pilot?" Ruth asked and lifted her cheek for him to kiss.

"I hate it," Puck sighed and looked down at his arm. "Serves me right for thinking I could still play football with teenagers," he pouted. Puck was off active duty for the time being because he was recovering from surgery to his shoulder, following an incident at an inter-squadron football game. He knew that he would be back, flying his beloved Hercules eventually, but for now he had been shunted to a desk job, just until he was totally recovered. And he hated every second of it. Apart from the fact that they were based in Lima for the duration. And so was Beth.

"The thing is, now that we're back in Lima," Quinn said, after nabbing a sneaky taste of Ruth's secret sauce, "you have a connection with the high school kids," she reminded him. "I know when I went to see Will, before I got the job at Liberty, it surprised me to see that there are still pictures of us in the hallways. There's you with the football team, with the basketball team, and with New Directions, and don't try to tell me they wouldn't recognise you because you haven't changed a bit," she said with a smile. "Except for the mohawk," she added. "Mmm, what is in that?" she demanded of Ruth, she savoured the taste of the sauce with a dramatic roll of her eyes and a groan that came from her toes.

"This and that," Ruth replied with a secretive grin. "I will leave you the recipe in my will, how's that?" she told Quinn then hugged her and giggled. "I don't think I ever make it the same way twice," she told her. "I just throw things together in a pot, bring it to the boil, turn the heat down and let it simmer, then when it's thickened, I slather it on the chicken, throw that in the oven and Bob's your uncle," she said as though it didn't take her half a day to make the dish.

"Well, whatever you do to it, it's gorgeous," Quinn sighed and took another taste.

"Is Becks home tonight?" Puck asked of his younger sister.

"No, she's got some sort of event going on tonight," Ruth sighed. Puck gave his mom a questioning look. "She's a freshman in college," Ruth hurried to remind Puck. "Give her a break, let her enjoy things," she added with a smile. "You certainly did," she muttered then pulled a face at him when he was about to protest. Puck rolled his eyes and very wisely, kept quiet.

* * *

><p>"That was nice," Quinn sighed as they got out of the car in front of their house. "I love dinner with your mom," she said. Quinn waited for Puck to come around the car and take her hand.<p>

"And it beats cooking when you get home from work," Puck tacked on with a grin, just before he pulled Quinn into his arms. Puck gave a covert glance around them, up and down the street. "Think anybody is watching?" he whispered loudly, Quinn shook her head, almost giggling. "Good," Puck murmured, just before his lips touched hers. Quinn sighed when he took the kiss deeper, when their tongues touched, twisted together.

"Ms Puckerman?" a young girl's voice interrupted the erotically charged kiss.

Quinn sprang away from Puck as though she'd been electrified. "Oh, Robyn," Quinn said, in a quivering, breathless voice. "I didn't see you there," she added as she took a step back towards Puck.

"Hm," Robyn hummed in reply, and gave both Puck and Quinn a seriously searching stare. "I have a question for you," she announced and brought a notebook from out of the huge backpack that she always seemed to carry around. "Why did you tell everyone that a guy called 'Finnocence Hudlum' was Beth's dad and not," she glanced at Puck and gave a slight nod of her head in his direction, "Mohawk the Sperminator?" she asked.

"Who? What? Wait, what?" Puck spluttered. Who was this kid? And what the hell did she know about anything?

"Robyn, I really don't think this is an appropriate time and neither is that an appropriate question," Quinn told the young girl, she sounded every inch the strict schoolmarm. "Now, I don't know how you found out where I live, but I would appreciate it if you would go home, it's getting dark now, I'm sure your mother would prefer you to be at home," she added firmly.

"Nah," Robyn sighed, "Sue doesn't care if I'm home or not, all she does is polish her trophies and talk about her Cheerios days, she talks about that and Satan and Britain, and I have no idea what on earth she's on about. She talks about you too, a lot, she's always saying how he ruined your life, how you had everything and he took it all away from you, she can't understand why you married him, but whatever, not my business," she muttered the last part.

"Ya think?" Puck growled in his head, he really wanted to yell at this kid, she was far too nosy for his liking. "I'm going to give Sam a call, ask him to come by and pick her up," he told Quinn quietly and found the number he needed on his phone.

Ten minutes later, Quinn was still in the front yard with Robyn Sylvester. She had found it hard to come up with conversation without directly questioning the girl about her mother, it was extremely awkward. Quinn was so very grateful to see the police car arrive and even more so to see Sam Evans when he got out of it. When she'd seen the police car, Robyn was shaken for a minute, until she realised that she was only being taken home and that she wasn't actually in any trouble. As they watched the young girl leave, Quinn turned to Puck. "She is just as interfering as her mother," she sighed, then turned and went into the house. Puck followed.

"Will you check the machine?" Puck asked as he trotted upstairs to strip off his uniform. Quinn pressed play and listened to the day's messages.

"Oh my God," Quinn squealed. She stopped and rewound the message, played it over and over again. "Puck," she cried, from the bottom of the stairs. "Quick," she shouted when he didn't seem to hurry.

"S'up?" Puck asked as he came back down, barefoot and in sweatpants, pulling his t-shirt on as he walked.

"Listen to this," Quinn ordered, she was fizzing with excitement.

"Hi," a young, nervous voice came from the answer machine. "Erm, I guess you're not in. Or you're screening calls," she said, clearly embarrassed and ill at ease. "Anyway, it's Beth. Your daughter," she added, again with a nervous giggle. "I'd like to meet you, talk to you, if that's possible," she said with a lot more seriousness. "Give me a call. Or my mom," she offered and read out two numbers. "Seriously, anytime, call anytime," she finished before the message ended.

Quinn replayed the message again, then again. Eventually she managed to take the numbers down and got ready to dial. "Is it too late to call now, do you think?" she asked Puck, her teeth were nibbling on her lip, showing her nervousness.

"She said anytime," Puck reminded Quinn and took the phone from her. He pressed the send button then lifted the phone to his ear to listen to it ringing. "Shelby, hi, it's Puck, Noah Puckerman," he said when the call was answered. "Yep, we just got it," he replied, she'd obviously asked if he'd got Beth's message. "Whatever you want, we'll be guided by you," he told Shelby and swallowed hard, he knew his heart was beating about a million times a minute, he could see how nervous Quinn was, she was hissing questions at him but he was trying to concentrate on the call. "Ok, this Saturday. Sounds good. We'll see you then," he said and ended the call before Quinn could explode.

"This Saturday, what?" Quinn demanded, she could barely breathe, she could feel that every single molecule in her body was only just hanging on, only just staying together, she was just about to disintegrate and become one with the universe.

"We are formally meeting our daughter, at noon, on Saturday," Puck announced, he wasn't totally sure he had got that right. Did Shelby really say that? Had he dreamed it? "We are invited to lunch, at Breadstix," he laughed softly, that damn restaurant had seen them through many, many get-togethers, through break-ups and make-ups, "to meet with Beth. How quickly, how far this goes is up to her, Shelby wants Beth to have control," he explained exactly what the older woman had said.

"Does she know?" Quinn pondered aloud. "Does Beth know?"

"Know what?" Puck asked, but really, deep down, he knew what was coming.

"That you had an affair with her mother," Quinn said, still a little hurt by the whole 'Shuck' incident. "Will you be able to face her again?" she asked. If she was being entirely honest, Quinn would admit that the thought of Puck and Shelby meeting again had her scared, very scared.

"Quinn, that's all in the past," Puck said quietly and took her hand. "All of that, the old me, it's all in the past, you know that," he reminded her. "We're both different people now, you and I," he said against her hair as he hugged her. "You're not the head bitch anymore and I'm not the roving man-whore," he muttered with a grin. "And as long as you love me, I can face anything," he said. "War zones, my CO, your mother, even Shelby Corcoran."

* * *

><p>The week dragged on interminably for Quinn. Every day at school she either had Beth in her class or caught sight of her in the hallways, it was driving her insane. Every day she felt sick at the thought of the meeting on Saturday. Not about meeting Beth, but about meeting Shelby. The last time Quinn had actually seen Shelby, it had been to tell her that she knew about her and Puck's little indiscretion, and that she was going to report it to the appropriate authorities. She hadn't of course, Rachel had talked her out of it, reminded Quinn of what might happen to Beth if she actually went through with the threat, but Shelby had run all the same. She took Beth with her and ran, all the way back to New York and all contact between them had been lost. Quinn sometimes wondered if Puck still blamed her for that, she wondered if that was why they hadn't actually managed to get together as a couple during their senior year, despite both of them spending a lot of time together and neither of them spending time with anyone else of significance. For God's sake, Quinn couldn't even remember how many times they'd slept together through that year, and each time they did, they both insisted that it was the last time. It was just the same when they came back to Lima for Thanksgiving that first year after graduation. One trip to Breadstix and that was it, as usual, sharing a drink or two, as usual, sharing a memory or two, as usual, sharing a bed, as usual. It had been a sort of relief to everyone, them included, when they had finally admitted - to each other as well as everyone else - just exactly what they felt about each other. It had taken a few more years after that to take the plunge and get married. But at least they were happy. Only one thing would make that happiness complete. Well, one person. Beth.<p>

"Quinn, if you don't get your ass in gear, lunch will be over and Beth will think we're not coming," Puck's exasperated call from the bottom of the stairs did nothing to alleviate Quinn's nerves. "Jesus, she's freakin' seen her every day this week as it is," he grumbled jealously to himself as he paced the hall, waiting for Quinn. "Finally," he sighed as she appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Do I look ok in this?" Quinn asked, she looked down her body at the dress she wore, she wasn't sure if she looked too much like a school teacher. "It doesn't look too 'teacher-y', does it?" she asked just before she turned to go back and change.

"Q, for God's sake," Puck sighed, his arms flying in the air to slap down on the sides of his thighs. "It's a dress, just like the hundred others that are in your closet, can we please, just get a move on? And you look awesome, by the way," he remembered to say to stop Quinn going to get changed for the fifth or sixth time.

"Are you sure? I look ok?" Quinn fished, she wasn't deliberately seeking compliments, just reassurance. She was incredibly nervous. "Let's go," she said quietly and forced herself to go out through the front door. Quinn was more nervous of meeting Shelby than anything else. She was nervous and she knew that within seconds, all of her old insecurities would come flooding to the fore. She knew that she wouldn't feel comfortable until she saw Puck and Shelby together again, until she could see, with her own eyes that there was nothing between them. And then maybe she could finally lay that ghost to rest.

"Hallelujah," Puck mouthed silently as he quickly followed and locked the door behind him. "I'll drive," he offered, and opened the passenger door to his car for Quinn to climb inside. Puck really didn't think that Quinn should drive anywhere, not when she was this distracted.

The drive to Breadstix was uneventful, neither Puck nor Quinn could think of anything to say, they couldn't even manage small talk, each of them lost in their own world. "Puckerman, we're meeting friends," Puck quietly told the hostess at the door. "Corcoran," he answered when asked what name the booking had been made under.

"Right this way, Mr Puckerman, Mrs Puckerman," the hostess murmured as she stepped out from behind her desk to escort them to their table. "Your lunch companions have already arrived," she added with a smile at Puck that telegraphed her interest in him. Puck was oblivious to the girl's flirting, Quinn was not, but today at least, it didn't grate on her nerves like it usually did.

"Quinn, Noah," Shelby said as they approached the table. "Lovely to see you both," she added politely, she rose a little and accepted the brush of a cheek against hers as a token of a friendly kiss, from Quinn and the more genuine touch of lips to her cheek from Puck. "Please," she offered and settled herself next to the young blonde, indicating the two seats opposite.

"So you must be Beth," Puck said with a bright smile, Beth couldn't help but roll her eyes, she also couldn't help the smile that grew on her face and the warmth within her that just blossomed and blossomed. This was her mom and dad, her real blood relatives.

"I guess so," Beth replied with a self-conscious little shrug. She glanced at Ms Puckerman, she looked like she was about to burst into tears. Or throw up. "Are you ok?" she asked and reached a hand out to cover Ms Puckerman's trembling hands that were clasped together on the table.

"I'm fine, sweetie," Quinn replied with a husky catch in her voice, "I'm just emotional about this whole thing," she explained. "But, thank you for asking."

Conversation started off quite stilted, there was some residual embarrassment for Shelby, she couldn't believe she had ever been stupid enough to allow Puck into her bed. "Why did you do that?" she asked herself in her head. "Because you were feeling old and ignored," she answered, just as silently. "Ok, so Beth has some questions for you guys," she decided to get the conversation going. "Over to you," she told Beth softly, giving her the opportunity to ask anything.

Puck and Quinn looked intently at Beth, waited for her to ask possibly searching questions. Puck placed his hand over Quinn's, his thumb stroked hers, just softly, just to let her know that he was aware that she was close to freaking out. "So, first thing is, why did you decide to give me up?" Beth asked in a rush of breath.

"Ok, let's start with the easy ones, eh?" Puck teased a little. He blew out a deep breath. "Well, I think it's fair to say that giving you up for adoption wasn't my first choice," he told Beth quite truthfully. "It actually wasn't Quinn's either, despite what people thought at the time," he added, he glanced at Quinn and found her grateful eyes. "See, the thing you have to remember is, we were both only sixteen when you were born and as much as we wanted to be grown ups, play happy families, there were a lot of obstacles in our way," he said. "But, at the end of the day, the decision to give you up was ours alone, we were the only ones who could make that choice and we both felt, after a lot of soul-searching, that the best option for you would be for someone who could give you all that we couldn't, for them to adopt you. Shelby, your mom," he corrected himself with a little shake of his head, "she approached us when you were just a couple of hours old, barely even that," he said and had to stop for a second as the memories flooded back. _Did you love me? Yes, especially now. Do you want to keep her? No, do you? She looks like you, does she have a name? No. Beth. Beth, that's nice, I like it. _Puck took another deep breath to continue. "I know it may seem harsh to you, but we made the right choice, it was the right decision. For you, at least," he said firmly, his lips stayed in the tight, semblance of a smile.

"I have to agree, it was a difficult decision to make, especially for an emotional sixteen year old who didn't have the support of her family," Quinn added, she sort of wanted to get that out there without having to go over old ground, "but looking at you, listening to you, I know that we made the right decision and we can't thank your mom enough for how she's raised you, you're amazing," she assured the young girl.

"But you still haven't really said why, you've both sort of side-stepped, but you haven't really said it. It's a simple question. Did you or did you not want me?" Beth asked.

"Oh God, so much," Puck sighed and he knew that he had tears pricking his eyes. "We wanted you so, so much, please, don't ever think that you weren't wanted," he begged her. "But like I said, there were obstacles."

"Like what?" Beth asked, she clearly wanted answers.

"Like the fact that we wouldn't have had anywhere to live," Puck began, he thought through everything that had haunted him for the last twelve years. "Like the fact that I was an idiot, I couldn't stay faithful to Quinn, she couldn't trust me to be there for her or for you. Neither of us had jobs, not real ones anyway, God there were so many things," he sighed. He glanced again at Quinn. "Things are different now," he assured all of the ladies around the table. "And in another time, another place, things would have worked out so differently, they really would," he assured Beth.

"But you lied about who my father was," Beth accused Quinn, her green eyes narrowed slightly as she waited for Quinn's response.

"There were reasons for that," Puck butted in.

"No, I want her to answer, she's the one who lied," Beth stopped Puck's flow of words with the flat of her hand raised in his direction.

"I always knew I would have to answer to this," Quinn murmured, with a sad, half-smile on her face. "The truth is, I lied because when I...when we...when you...I...oh this is so hard," she sighed, her head lowered to hide her emotions. Quinn drew in a breath to steady herself. "I was dating another guy, Finn Hudson, a really great guy, a guy who respected me, who didn't push for more than I was willing to give," she explained, her eyes took on a wistful look.

"Oh. My. God," Beth cried, horrified. "So who is lying now?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Puck asked, he couldn't follow Beth's train of thought.

"Well, one second you wanted me, wanted to keep me and in the next, you're dating a guy who didn't push for more than you wanted to give," Beth responded, her voice high and angry. "So does that mean that you did push?" she hissed in Puck's direction. "I mean, like did you force her?" she asked bluntly.

"No, oh God, no," Quinn cried, horrified that Beth could think that of Puck. "No, no he would never do that, ever," she insisted. "See, you have to understand, I had led a very sheltered life, my parents were incredibly strict, I had just been allowed to start dating, the summer before sophomore year and my first boyfriend, Finn, well, he was as naive as I was. The thing is, even though we were dating each other, we both really wished we were dating someone else but neither of us knew how to say it," she admitted. "Finn had fallen in love with Rachel," Quinn said with a smile and a glance at Shelby, Shelby gave a slight nod of her head. "And I had fallen fatefully and irrevocably in love with him," she finished softly, with a shy, loving look at Puck. "It is fair to say that Puck didn't quite feel the same way about me, he wanted me, for sure, but he wasn't in love with me, he wasn't in love with anyone, not back then."

"That's true," Puck agreed. "To a certain extent, anyway," he qualified Quinn's statement, he gave her that smile, the one that she loved, the one they always joked about. "But I felt more for her than I ever had for anyone else, I just didn't know that it was love," he explained and paused for a moment, just to remember, just to reflect. He remembered that defining moment, that time in the locker room, in front of Finn's shirt, that time when he had admitted to Quinn that she was his soul mate, that time he finally, actually said it, that time he had told her that he loved her, he hadn't just said yes when she asked if he did, he hadn't just shrugged his shoulders and kissed her, he hadn't rolled her over in bed to avoid the issue, like he'd done a thousand times before. No, this time it had come from him, he had manned up and told her the truth.

"So, who was Finn?" Beth asked. She knew Rachel must the same one that her mom had spoken of, she must be her mom's daughter, her sister, almost.

"Finn was my very best friend," Puck answered with a sigh as he thought about Finn. "We grew up together, right from pre-school, we went through the same schools, same classes, we played the same games, liked the same stuff, the same girls," he added with a wink at Quinn. "But when Finn started dating Quinn it was something different, I didn't like it," he admitted. "I knew there was something about her that I liked better than any other girl, but I was too much of an idiot to tell her, to do anything about it, too much of an idiot to realise I was in love with her," he explained then looked up, just a touch embarrassed. "But then one day, her cheerleading coach, I think you know her daughter, Robyn Sylvester, right?" he asked Beth, Beth nodded. "Well, Robyn's mom, Sue, she was the cheerleading coach at McKinley and Quinn was head cheerleader, so one particular day, Sue had been more vicious than usual, especially to Quinn, and she was upset, crying under the bleachers, I found her after football practice, we got talking, I tried to cheer her up, I decided to take her home because her ride had bailed, next thing, we were making out, one thing led to another and hey, what do you know? Nine months later," he finished, a touch irreverently, he raised his hands to indicate Beth and gave her a little smile that made his eyes shine, Puck saw no reason to mention the wine coolers that he had plied Quinn with to lower her inhibitions.

"And that was it?" Beth asked. "No great love story? No grand romance?" she demanded, clearly disappointed.

"Sorry," Puck sighed. "But that's the bald truth. The love grew over years of being connected, by you," he explained. "But I can honestly say that I have never loved another woman like I love Quinn, she's the other half of me," he said then smiled, a little embarrassed, at Quinn, she only just managed to gulp back the tears. Puck pressed a kiss to her hair.

"The love between us has been there forever," Quinn contradicted, in an almost strangled voice, she was finding it very hard to talk through the unshed tears. "We have always had something very, very special, something that neither of us ever found with anyone else," she explained, and she wasn't totally sure if she said that as a dig towards Shelby, Quinn hoped not, she hoped she wasn't as shallow as her former self. "The thing that made us realise what we were missing out on, was the death of our friend, Finn. When he died, so senselessly, it made both of us realise and acknowledge that life is too short and too precious to waste, to not take a chance on something, someone that you love," she added, her words and her voice full of emotion. "The moment we both admitted it, to each other and everyone else, like they didn't already know," she scoffed and rolled her eyes, "it was like the whole universe had suddenly come into alignment, like everything was alright, you know?"

"So what are you saying?" Beth asked, she'd sort of lost where her questioning was going.

"I'm saying that, even though we didn't know it at the time," Quinn answered, "you were born out of love, and you are so loved, you always have been and you always will be, you are the very best part of both of us and the biggest regret I will ever have is that I, we, gave you away, but on the other side of that, I am so proud of us that, even so young, we could do the right thing by you, do the right thing for you, and giving you to Shelby was the right thing, it was. Thank you, Shelby, thank you for allowing us this time to explain things to Beth, to give her our side of the story," she said with an intense need for Shelby to know that she meant it.

Beth remained silent for a while, she looked like she was trying to process a lot of the information. She glanced at her mom then looked at Puck and Quinn to ask her next question. "So can I meet the rest of the family?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: You didn't want me but you want this one? How is that fair?**

Beth laid in her bed trying to get to sleep, but her eyes refused to close. Even in the darkness, she could make out shapes in her room. She sighed as she turned over for the millionth time since going to bed. She wasn't sure she exactly liked the outcome of the meeting with Puck and Quinn - as she'd been invited to call them, except for at school, then it was Ms Puckerman. It still really niggled at Beth that they seemed so intent on her knowing how much they loved her, how much they loved each other. But what if they had more kids? Then what? Would they give _them_ away? Would they keep them? Did that mean they would love them more than they ever loved her? Beth sighed and turned over yet again.

"Can't sleep?" Shelby asked from the doorway.

"Nope," Beth sighed and flopped onto her back.

"Can I come and give you a snuggle?" Shelby asked, using their phrase, their little thing they'd had from Beth being small. Whenever Beth had trouble getting to sleep, if she felt sick, if she just felt out of sorts, or if Shelby did, one or other of them asked for a 'snuggle', then they cuddled up together and everything seemed better again. Beth nodded, just a little tearfully, a bit emotionally. "Oh, baby," Shelby sighed as she climbed into Beth's bed beside her. "You don't have to worry about anything, you know that, right?" she murmured into her daughter's dark blonde hair. "I love you so much."

"But I still don't get how they could love each other and get married and stuff but still have given me up," Beth said, sadly. "I mean, why didn't they just wait till they were older and have me then?" she asked.

"Oh, sweetie," Shelby crooned and hugged Beth even tighter, her hand rubbing roughly up and down Beth's back. "One day, when you're a lot, lot older, you'll understand how that can be difficult," she added with a knowing smile.

"You mean like sex and hormones and stuff?" Beth asked, slightly disgusted, her mom shouldn't know about stuff like that, she was way too old.

"Something like that," Shelby agreed and worked hard to hold back the giggle that threatened to escape.

"Do you think they will have more kids?" Beth asked, her voice sounded very weak, fragile, almost as if she didn't want to say the words out loud. She already felt rejected, despite Puck and Quinn's reassurances, and her mom's. She wondered if she would feel even more rejected if they ever did have more kids.

"I would be very surprised if they didn't," Shelby answered honestly. "They have loved each other for so long, and for a long time, neither of them was happy," she added, and remembered with embarrassment the moment in her bed that Puck had given himself away. Shelby had never told him, but at the crucial moment, in the throes of passion, it was not her name that Puck had called out, it was Quinn's, and he wasn't even aware that he had. And that was why she'd asked him to leave, that was why she ended it. It had nothing to do with Quinn's threat of going to the authorities. Well, it had a little bit to do with that, but mostly it was hurt pride. It was also why she'd left, taking Beth with her, her jealousy had started to rise once again and Shelby hated that. Both Beth and Shelby sighed and stared into the darkness. Sleep was a long, long way away.

* * *

><p>Quinn stayed in bed on Sunday morning. She clung to the mattress and her pillow, almost in desperation, until Puck left to go on his morning run. The second she heard the front door close behind him, she crawled out of bed, made it to the bathroom and threw up with immense force. "Oh God, oh God, oh God," she wailed as yet another vile onslaught had her retching. "Every damn day," she cried to herself, as she lay on the bathroom floor, hoping that the coolness of the slate would help her to feel better. "Oh God. Every damn day," she repeated silently as a thought struck her.<p>

Quinn hauled herself back to bed, she lay for a few moments until the room and her stomach had stopped spinning, then picked up her phone. "Becks? Hi, it's me," she said when her sister-in-law answered the phone. "Is your mom there? No? Good. Can you do me a favour?" she asked then proceeded to let Rebecca know how she could help.

"No prob," Rebecca Puckerman replied. "See you soon," she added and hung up. Quinn cried pitifully and almost fell back to sleep.

Twenty minutes later, Rebecca let herself in with the spare key that Ruth kept for them. "Hi," Quinn sighed, she felt as desolate as she sounded. "Did you bring it?" she asked, Rebecca handed over the package. "Thanks," she said, although most of the word disappeared as she began to cry.

"You don't need me for this part, I'll go start breakfast," Rebecca offered, she knew her brother would be back from his run soon.

"Thanks," Quinn sniffed and hauled herself out of bed again.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Becks," Puck panted when he got back in from his run. "What are you doing here?" he asked, he didn't usually see his sister so early on a Sunday morning, she was more of a stay-in-bed-all-day-on-a-Sunday kind of a girl.<p>

"Oh, you know," Rebecca shrugged and flipped the eggs over, "I missed you the other day, haven't seen you for a while, thought I'd come and bug you," she said with a huge, cheesy grin.

"And mom went off on one of her antique hunts?" Puck asked, nodding more to himself than his sister.

"Yup, who knows what crap she'll come back with today," Rebecca sighed and pulled a face. Ruth's passion was discovering unloved ancient items that she bought with the intention of restoring them to their former glory. The basement and the garage were full of unfinished 'projects'. Garbage, was what Rebecca thought all the projects should be filed under, but Ruth wouldn't let her toss any of them.

"Looks good," Puck complimented over Rebecca's shoulder, "give me a couple of minutes, I'll be down for breakfast. Where's Quinn?" he asked, belatedly realising that his wife was missing.

"Upstairs, getting dressed, I think," Rebecca replied, sounding distracted as she stirred and shifted pots and pans.

Puck ran upstairs and went straight into his and Quinn's bedroom. "Hey, babe," he said through the fabric of his shirt, he was already dragging it over his head. Quinn stayed silent. "Hey," Puck repeated when he could actually see, just as he dropped his shirt in the hamper. "S'up?" he asked. Quinn hadn't moved, she was perched on the edge of the bed, she seemed almost frozen to the spot, just one lonely tear was sliding down her face. "You alright?" Puck asked, concern was building in him over the way that Quinn seemed to be out of phase with everything around her. "Quinn? Are you ok? Talk to me," he encouraged as he crouched in front of her and took her hands.

Quinn jumped, startled, she hadn't realised that Puck was back from his run, she hadn't heard him come into the bedroom, she must have been in a trance or something. "Hey," she croaked and sniffed back the rest of the tears. Quinn coughed a couple of times to clear her throat. "Did you, erm, did you enjoy your run?" she asked, although her question was clearly uncomfortable, it was just words to fill the air around them.

"Yes," Puck replied, he was still trying to puzzle out what was wrong with her. "Becks has breakfast under control. I'm going to take a shower," he informed Quinn, he looked back at her from the bathroom doorway. Something was definitely wrong with Quinn, she seemed like she'd slipped back into whatever day-dream she'd been in when he first walked into the room. Puck sighed and turned on the shower. He dropped his shorts and socks on the floor then decided it wasn't worth the hassle so bent to pick them up. As he reached out for his clothes, something in the waste basket caught his eye. Slowly, Puck straightened up, his shorts in one hand, the empty package in the other. Puck walked back into the bedroom, naked, reading the box as he went. "Should I ask?" he enquired, showing Quinn what he held in his hand.

Quinn glanced over at Puck, two tears now fell from her eyes, she sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her mother would have been in bits if she'd seen that. "Do you need to?" she answered huskily.

"I don't know, give me a clue here," Puck suggested. He could see that she was upset, but what did that actually mean?

"Well, we always said we'd try again when we were thirty," Quinn shrugged and straightened her robe across her knees. "It's just a little earlier than we expected, that's all," she mumbled and shrugged once again.

Puck gulped as Quinn's words jumbled around in his brain and then sorted themselves out into the correct order. "Seriously?" he asked, his breath seemed to have left him for the time being. "We're pregnant? Seriously?" he demanded as joy descended on him. He felt so happy, so fulfilled. "Oh my God," he sighed as he dragged Quinn into his arms.

"Oh God," Rebecca cried from the doorway, she slapped her hand over her eyes. "Noah," she shouted. "Get some pants on," she ordered. "God, you're a freak," she grumbled and looked at the floor. "I came to tell you that breakfast is on the table," she told them both without looking up. "I'll put yours to keep warm, shall I?" she asked.

"We'll be down in a minute," Puck replied. He wasn't too worried, it was only his ass on show. He hoped. "And this is our house, our bedroom, by the way, we're allowed to be naked in here," he called after Rebecca as she ran back downstairs. "How do you feel?" he asked Quinn, he was full of concern, he was full of excitement, worry, joy, fear, pride and a million other things he just couldn't put his finger on yet. But most of all, he was concerned. Quinn seemed to still be a bit out of it, in shock almost. "This is a good thing, right?" he asked, just to check.

"No, yes, it's good, it's very good," Quinn stuttered. "It was just a surprise, is all," she dismissed her earlier confused state. "Ok, breakfast," she said as she gave herself a mental shake. "What would you like for breakfast, did you go on your run yet?" she asked.

"Erm, Quinn, Becks is downstairs, she made breakfast already and I just got back, that's why I smell as sweet as I do," Puck informed her, his worry and concern factor had just gone through the roof.

"Oh God, yes, I know this," Quinn wailed to herself, she thrust her hands into her hair and dragged it up and off her face. "Go shower, sorry, I'm being pathetic, sorry," she apologised. "I'm going to put some clothes on, I'll go downstairs, we'll wait till you come down, ok?" she suggested, suddenly snapping herself back into the present.

"Ok," Puck agreed gently and watched her spring into action. Puck turned to go shower, Quinn seemed more like her usual self. "Hey, let's keep this to ourselves for now," he suggested.

"Well, Becks brought me the test so I think she has a fairly good idea," Quinn replied with an apologetic look on her face.

Puck shrugged, he was fine with his sister knowing, as long as she didn't spill to a single soul. "I think we should tell Beth first," he said and waited for Quinn's reaction.

"Me too," Quinn replied and bit her lip as more tears fell.

* * *

><p>"So?" Rebecca asked the second that Quinn entered the kitchen. Quin didn't reply, she intended to wait until Puck was with her. "You aren't going to say anything, are you?" she pouted.<p>

"Nope," Quinn replied and fixed both hers and Puck's plates. "Turkey bacon," she almost sobbed, she always felt a slight smack of disappointment that they had the turkey rashers instead of the real deal, but in deference to Puck's beliefs, she adhered to the no pork rule.

Puck stood in the doorway, his shower had been the quickest on record and it hadn't taken him more than ten seconds to don his sweatpants and a clean shirt. "And by that face, I see some midnight Burger King runs coming my way," he teased and came to sit down at the table. Puck glanced at his sister. "I know that you know, so I'm sure you can take an educated guess," he told her.

"So I take it I _am _going to be an aunt?" Rebecca asked with excitement. Puck and Quinn nodded. "That is so cool," she breathed, she couldn't wait, she was going to teach the kid so many bad things, it was going to be such fun.

"But you have to keep it to yourself for now," Puck instructed. He brushed past the few 'oh buts' that Rebecca threw at him. "Promise me," he asked of her, "just until we speak to Beth, we have to tell her first, I mean, it's only yesterday we were telling her why we gave her up for adoption and now this? It's got to smart," he said, Rebecca nodded, she agreed, it would probably hurt like a son of a bitch. "We'll tell mom and Quinn's mom as soon as we've told Beth," he said with a firmness that he didn't really feel.

* * *

><p>"I know we only saw her yesterday," Puck began after the initial greetings with Shelby, "but do you think we could see Beth for an hour today?" he asked. "There's something we want to talk about with her," he added, he hoped it would swing the jury in their favour.<p>

"I'll ask her," Shelby offered. She glanced at her daughter who was shaking her head from side to side quite vigorously and mouthing the word 'no'. "Here she is," Shelby said aloud. "Beth, Puck would like to know if he and Quinn could have an hour of your time this afternoon," she said, Beth pouted and gave Shelby the dead eye.

"Sure," Beth just about growled, she narrowed her eyes and stared at her mom. "That was mean," she mouthed, Shelby blew her a kiss and turned away. Beth flounced off into the kitchen leaving Shelby in the den.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Shelby offered, she knew that Puck sounded different from yesterday.

"No, it's just something we want to talk about with Beth, it's nothing, don't worry," Puck lied, he was sure Shelby would be able to hear the lie.

"Fine, pick her up at two, she'll be ready," Shelby sighed and gave Puck the address. "Later," she said before ending the call. "I wonder what that is all about?" she muttered to herself.

* * *

><p>"Hey," Puck said as Beth answered the door. "We'll only be an hour, maybe less, depends," he assured Shelby. Shelby nodded and looked past Puck to wave at Quinn who was still in the car. "Later," he called over his shoulder as he closed the rear passenger door once Beth was safely inside the vehicle.<p>

"So where are we going?" Beth asked, she still wasn't sure she was happy with this, she hadn't finished working everything out in her head yet.

"Just for ice cream," Puck answered and smiled at Beth in the rear view mirror.

"Cool," Beth said with a touch of mockery.

"I see what you did there," Puck grinned, Beth couldn't help but grin back. It was only a couple of seconds till she was laughing. A few minutes later Puck pulled up in the parking lot outside Cold Stone Creamery. "This was always my favourite place," he sighed. "Remember when you used to make me come here to get you a pint each of cake batter, cheesecake, and strawberry flavoured ice cream?" he reminded Quinn, bringing up the topic of pregnancy straight away. "She craved that every single day when she was pregnant with you," he added and glanced back at Beth. Puck gulped, he wondered if he should just get it over with, like ripping off a band aid. Puck cleared his throat and took his keys out of the ignition, suddenly silencing the cd that had been playing. He coughed again to clear his throat. "I wonder if you will this time?" he asked Quinn, then looked at her with almost pleading eyes.

"This time?" Beth asked, her voice was just barely there.

"Erm, yeah," Puck replied and turned in his seat. "We wanted you to be the first to know," he said with conviction, with certainty. "We found out this morning, that we are expecting a baby," he said clearly then waited for Beth to say something.

"Oh my God," Beth cried in her head. "Less than twenty-four hours," she reminded herself. "Already discarded for the next model," she told herself dramatically. "Was that what yesterday was about? Insurance in case you never had any more kids? And now it doesn't matter because you find out you're pregnant? I bet you wish you'd waited before you poured your heart out, right? What a waste that was, I mean, you could have ignored me for another twelve years, right?"

"No, absolutely not," Quinn insisted. Beth realised she must have spoken out loud, not in her head. "You're right, yesterday we didn't even know that it was a possibility," she explained then stopped abruptly. Suddenly Quinn was at a loss, she wasn't sure how much Beth knew about sex education and she really didn't want to piss Shelby off this early in their relationship. Quinn turned to speak directly to Beth. "Up until this morning, I never even realised, I never gave it a thought," she said with absolute honesty. "We've never been particularly meticulous when it comes to birth control," she admitted with a slight flush to her cheeks. "I suppose it was just a matter of time till we did it again," she suggested, she glanced and saw that Beth looked less defeated.

"And you wanted to tell me first?" Beth asked, strangely touched by that. "My mom doesn't know?"

"Nope, there's only four of us that know," Puck replied, he too had twisted in his seat. "There's Quinn, obviously," he said, counting off on his fingers. "There's you and I," he said, raising another two fingers, "and my sister, but only because Quinn called her this morning to buy the test for her because she suspected it might be a possibility and felt too sick to go buy one herself," he explained. "We wanted to tell you first, then later today, we'll tell both of our moms, Quinn's sister. Maybe even our dads," he added then screwed his nose up at that idea. He rarely saw his own dad, unless the asshole wanted money for his rent or something, and Russell Fabray still detested the ground that Noah Puckerman walked on. Quinn felt sure that Russell prayed every day for something evil to befall Puck.

Beth nodded as she listened to Puck, she watched Quinn's face, saw how nervous she looked, how fearful her eyes were. "Are you ok?" she asked Quinn. Quinn's eyes filled with tears but she nodded that she was fine.

"She's really emotional right now," Puck explained with a sigh. "We should have realised this before, you were super emotional when you were pregnant with Beth, I don't think I've seen you like it since, right up until we moved back here to Lima," he said, with a ponderous look on his face, it made sense of a couple of other things too. "So, the other thing we wanted to talk to you about is, when we have doctor appointments, do you want to come with us? Be involved? This is going to be your brother or sister, after all," he added with a hopeful smile.

"So the baby will know I'm his or her big sister?" Beth asked, not totally sure how it would work.

"Mhm," Quinn agreed, nodding her head with her lips pressed tight together. "You will always be our firstborn," she told Beth and held a hand out to her, she felt kind of left hanging when Beth didn't take it. "You will always hold a special place in my heart, in his too, I'm sure," she added with a nod in Puck's direction, Puck nodded his agreement. "And you _are_ a part of our family, if you want to be, it's your choice," she said, feeling much happier to have said that our loud. "There's no rush, you don't have to decide right away, you can change your mind at any time," she said, handing the control firmly back to Beth, just as Shelby had wanted her to have.

Beth nodded but didn't reply, she was clearly deep in thought. "Can I meet any of them today?" she asked.

"Let's see, we said we'd only be an hour and we've talked for almost all of that and we haven't even had ice cream yet," Puck muttered. "I really think we should get you home right now then we'll call you later when we've arranged something, dinner maybe, for you to meet my mom and sister and Quinn's mom," he decided. "Does that sound like a plan?" he asked, both Beth and Quinn nodded.

* * *

><p>"You look a little down, Boo," Shelby said as Beth sighed once again while flicking through the TV channels. "Feeling ok?" she asked.<p>

"Yes," Beth sighed then pouted, she was sure she was feeling ok, but then she would suddenly remember that she was the discarded one and that her birth parents intended to keep the next one. "No, not really," she said with an even bigger sigh. "But I can't talk about it yet," she added when her mom settled down next to her with the 'lets talk' look on her face.

Shelby stood to answer the phone when it rang. "Hello," she said politely with smile on her face, she always answered with a smile, she always said that people could hear the smile in your voice and it made the world a nicer place. "Quinn, hi," she added and smiled with even more determination. "No, she hasn't said anything," she answered the question. "Oh, congratulations," Shelby cried then turned to look at Beth, saw the sadness that drifted over her daughter and she understood, she got it right away. Beth was feeling a little pushed out, a little jealous. Shelby could relate. "That's fine, no, I have no objections to that. Thank you, I appreciate being included. No, we'll meet you there, thank you, see you tomorrow," she said before she ended the call. "So, another baby, huh?" Shelby said and watched Beth nod unhappily. "I can't say I'm surprised, there was something about Quinn's face yesterday that looked familiar, now I know what it was," she said and patted Beth's thigh. "She had the same look about her when she was pregnant with you, she never did any other time," she said and glanced at Beth, saw that she was listening with interest, Shelby knew that she had to be nice. "I mean, Quinn is always classically beautiful, the blonde hair, the fine features, her beautiful green eyes, porcelain skin," she listed, "but there's just something else, a glow, something, I don't know, maybe it comes from the inside?" she asked of no one, then patted Beth's thigh more firmly. "Anyway, we're going to dinner tomorrow evening for you to meet Ruth and Judy, who are, in essence, your grandmas and Rebecca who is your aunt," she informed her daughter. Beth frowned, again all this seemed to be happening pretty quickly, she wasn't sure she liked it, all this change, but she thought she'd hate it even more if she was left out of things.

* * *

><p>Quinn's day at school seemed endless, absolutely endless. Beth had been very quiet in her class, sullen almost. Quinn mentally excused the mood. "Hi," she sighed wearily when she got into the car. "I really wish we hadn't arranged this dinner," she admitted. "But I suppose our dads had to find out sometime," she sighed once more.<p>

"Gets everything over with in one go," Puck reminded her. "They all get to meet Beth, my dad won't ask for rent money in front of my mom because he knows she'd kill him, your dad will pretend he likes me to keep the tattooed freak happy and our moms will stand united as divorced women," he declared. Really it would be more or less a replay of their wedding but with the addition of Beth and Shelby. "It's a shame that Frannie and her husband couldn't make it," he added without a touch of sincerity, he neither liked nor got on with Quinn's older sister or her husband, he thought they were too far up their own asses to be even remotely likable.

"You know, I am so impressed with your acting abilities," Quinn grinned and leaned over the centre console to give Puck a kiss before they joined the traffic, "that almost sounded like you meant it," she praised. "Well done." Puck grinned and acknowledged the mocking praise.

* * *

><p>Puck and Quinn met Beth and Shelby at the entrance to Breadstix. Quinn had wanted to go someplace different, but the imp inside Puck made him call and make the reservation there. Puck could quite happily admit that the biggest joy of dining at Breadstix was that Russell Fabray hated, absolutely detested, the place. "Hi," he said as they reached the doorway. "Are you ready for this?" he asked Beth with a grin. Beth gulped and nodded. Puck glanced over at Shelby. "Thanks," he told her quietly, "for doing this, I know, I know, nothing for years then three days in a row," he mocked himself and rolled his eyes. "But I hope we can at least speak often, even if we don't see each other ever day," he added, more to Beth than to Shelby. Beth bit her lip and nodded. She had never looked more like Quinn than she did in just that second. Puck smiled and gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "Ready?" he asked everyone. Quinn, Shelby and Beth all nodded. "Let's go," he muttered under his breath then opened the door for them to enter before him. "Reservation for Puckerman," he informed the hostess, the same one who had been on duty on Saturday.<p>

"Right this way," the hostess encouraged with a smile and led the party through to the more private, bigger tables in the back of the restaurant.

When they arrived at the table, they were glad to see that everyone else had arrived and were seated. Ruth was managing not to glare at her ex husband. Rebecca was sat strategically in between her parents. Russell and the tattooed freak were on the other side of Ruth, Judy was next to Puck's dad but throwing dagger-like glares across the table at Russell, who was pointedly ignoring Judy. "Hi," Quinn said quite loudly as they approached. "Glad you could all make it," she announced and then drew Beth closer to the table. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Beth Corcoran," she said with a smile, introducing the nervous young girl. "I know that you all know who she is, but just to be perfectly clear, this is our beautiful daughter, Beth, and her mom, Shelby Corcoran," she added, and introduced her too. "Beth, Shelby, this is," she began and pointed her way around the table introducing the family, one member at a time. Beth and Shelby politely nodded and murmured 'hi' at each person. When the introductions were over, Beth and Shelby took their seats, Puck and Quinn remained standing.

"So, we come to the reason why we've asked you all here this evening," Puck said, taking a step towards Quinn, his hand slid around her back to rest on her hip. "And that is to tell you all that we are finally pregnant again," he announced with the hint of a blush on his cheeks. He glanced at Quinn and saw that she was blushing slightly too. He had no idea why they should be embarrassed, they were almost twenty-nine years old, they had been a couple for nearly ten years, they had been married for five years, surely it would be expected that they would have more children at some point. Puck glanced around the table, he saw the happy smile on both his and Quinn's mom's faces and on Rebecca's, but they already knew the news before. Puck glanced at his dad, he looked like it was a shock, Russell looked like he'd been slapped. "What? You thought we never had sex?" he thought to himself, wondering how it could be such a shock to the guy.

"Congratulations," Rebecca cried and rushed to hug her brother and sister-in-law. Puck and Quinn finally sat down in the two empty seats, between Beth and Russell.

Russell grunted and cleared his throat after being elbowed in the ribs by the tattooed freak. "Con-congratulations," he muttered then glared at the woman at his side. She didn't look intimidated, she just glared back.

"So, Beth, how will you feel about being a big sister?" Ruth asked, her attention was focused totally on the youngest person at the table.

"Well, I won't really..." Beth began to reply but was cut off.

"Nonsense," Ruth cut in, "you are the oldest, this one," she nodded towards Quinn, "will be the youngest, but rest assured, you are definitely equals," she said with a quiet intensity in her voice. Ruth glanced towards her ex and then Judy's. "At least in my eyes," she mumbled, but Beth heard it and appreciated it.

"The job you do and you want to bring kids into the relationship?" Puck's dad finally managed to ask, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Puck responded after taking a gulp of his beer. "I fly planes, big ones, cargo ones. Sometimes I drop paras into dangerous places, sometimes I drop food and medical supplies into needy places, sometimes I refuel jets in flight," he listed various parts of his job. "And sometimes I spend weeks just ferrying equipment around different airbases," he finished. "There's very little of my job that actually involves danger," he explained, "and I'm good at it, I'm good at my job. I know the dangers, I know how to avoid most of them, but at the end of the day, I serve my country and I am proud to do so," he informed his dad.

"And we're all very proud of you too," Quinn added quickly, she brushed her hand up Puck's arm to soothe the nerves that she knew would be ragged. If anyone could ruffle Puck's feathers, it was his dad. Absolutely every time. The man just always seemed to find that one thing, that little chink in Puck's armour and he always went for the killer strike. Quinn thought it was because he was jealous of Puck, but Puck couldn't see that. Quinn was spot on.

* * *

><p>Despite the initial awkwardness, the family dinner at Breadstix was fairly successful. Russell almost managed to smile not sneer at Puck. It was more of a grimace, but it was closer to a smile than he had ever managed before, so Puck was counting that as a success. Ruth had managed to hold her tongue and not berate her ex for his lax attitude to his paternal duties. Judy had almost managed to look at Russell's new wife, although she still couldn't call her anything but the tattooed freak. Rebecca had been the one who had got Beth to interact more than anyone else and Shelby finally felt at ease, she finally realised that it was a bonus for Beth to be welcomed and accepted into this weird extended family, because without it, she only had Shelby, and what if something happened to her one day?<p>

"Beth, sweetie," Shelby called before Beth climbed the stairs. "There's something I'd like to ask you," she said when Beth returned to the den and walked towards her mom. "I was thinking of contacting Rachel, asking her to meet, what do you think?" she asked nervously.

"Would I get to meet her too?" Beth asked, she knew who Rachel Berry was, she had followed her career for a few years now. Beth loved Broadway, she loved going to New York with her mom, just to watch a show, stay overnight in some luxury hotel then fly back to Lima the next day.

"Yes, I think it's about time both of my daughters knew each other," Shelby replied with a breathless laugh.

"Cool," Beth nodded then turned to walk away. "Everything's changing, isn't it?" she asked when she reached the door, she waited for her mom's reply but she didn't turn around.

"Yes," Shelby agreed softly, "but for the better, right?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: Secrets revealed...**

"I don't know, Robyn, it seems a little mean," Beth sighed, she immediately heaved another sigh and then yawned and turned the page. "Ms Puckerman doesn't deserve that," she added, she needed to be sure that Robyn wasn't actually going to copy all of her own mother's nasty, vitriolic words and put them up all over the school for other students to read.

"Why is it mean?" Robyn asked, mystified as to why Beth would want to protect the woman who had discarded her at birth. Sometimes Robyn wished that _her _mother had discarded _her_. Unfortunately for Robyn, Sue Sylvester had kept her daughter, and she changed the identity of her sperm donor quite regularly, so no one had ever actually figured it out. Sometimes Robyn wished the donor would figure it out for himself and come and rescue her. Sometimes Robyn wished for miracles.

Beth knew that she couldn't tell, she couldn't betray her birth mother's secret, not yet, it would be obvious soon enough, but for now, the baby was still a secret, but Beth didn't want to do anything to upset Quinn, not now that she was pregnant, it would be cruel. Beth sighed once again. "It just is, that's why," she insisted. It was one thing for Robyn to bring the journals for Beth to read, they held details about Quinn, Puck and Beth herself in them, but Robyn really shouldn't pass them around for anyone else to...Beth shot upright as though someone had struck her with a cattle prod. Her _mom_ and _Puck_? Seriously? Oh. My. God. Eww. "Have you read this?" Beth demanded, she felt angry, she felt embarrassed, she felt uncomfortable. Did Quinn know? Was that why she and her mom had only lived in Lima for a few months when she was really small? Was that why they went back to New York? _Did _Quinn know? And if she didn't, should Beth tell her? Beth wished, just for a moment, that she'd never set eyes on Sue Sylvester's journals.

* * *

><p>"Quinn?" Beth said quietly from the classroom doorway, she glanced behind her into the hallway, just to make sure that there wasn't any students around. "Quinn?" she said a little louder.<p>

"Beth, hi, sorry honey, I was in a world of my own," Quinn replied when Beth's voice eventually penetrated her thoughts. "How can I help you today?" she asked and sat a little forward in her seat at her desk, forced herself to concentrate.

"I just...I ermm, I think I would like to go with you," Beth stuttered nervously, "you know, to your doctor appointment, you know, the ultrasound one, the one where you get the picture taken?" she added, she was sure she wanted to go to that one, to see the baby when it was still inside, maybe then she wouldn't feel so...usurped. Beth got that it was ridiculous, to feel usurped like that, she did, she got it, she understood. She had known, for one entire week, who her birth parents were and the fact that they were expecting a second child was freaking her out when really, it shouldn't, she should just be glad that she knew who they were and that they weren't complete assholes. Beth focused again on Quinn.

"Beth, that's great, Puck will be so pleased, I am too," Quinn assured the young girl, and she truly was. Quinn had been scared that the discovery of the pregnancy would scupper the fledgling relationship before it could take wings and fly. It would have killed Quinn if that had happened, she had waited twelve years to be able to speak to her precious little girl, although to be honest, she would have waited a thousand, but she was so pleased, that it appeared at least, that Beth seemed to be accepting the unexpected appearance of a sibling. Time would tell if that was still the case after the birth. Beth gave a hesitant smile, a little nod of her head and backed out of the classroom. Quinn sighed with happiness.

* * *

><p>"Babe, that's awesome," Puck replied when Quinn called him at lunchtime.<p>

"I know," Quinn sniffed, she couldn't stop the little sob that escaped. "Sorry, sorry," she muttered, and wiped her eyes, "I can't seem to keep my emotions under control," she grumbled of herself. And God help her when she got blindsided by a Hallmark commercial, tears was not the word, flood was more like it. Puck was considering making a move like his name sake, he'd seriously thought about building an ark.

"Did you arrange the ultrasound yet?" Puck asked, he hoped that he could distract her enough to stop her sniffing. "And my mom dropped by the recruiting office today, she brought some of her barbecue chicken for you, she said to have it with salad, she brought some of that french bread that you like too, so dinner is already fixed, I'll be by around four to pick you up, ok?"

"Mmmm," Quinn sighed, she had to swallow, she was quite literally salivating at the mere thought of the delicious chicken. "And yes, the ultrasound is on Friday, after school is out for the day," she finally answered his question.

* * *

><p>"I told Quinn today that I would go to the doctor thing with her and Puck," Beth announced over dinner.<p>

"Ok," Shelby replied, not really sure how to answer, what she was supposed to answer. She glanced over at her daughter, she looked like she had something else to say. Shelby waited. And waited.

Beth sighed and then spoke again, she had to know. "Did you really have an affair with Puck?" she asked, her words ran into each other, her eyes were closed, she didn't want to see her mom's face.

"Oh crap," Shelby whispered and swallowed hard. "Beth, sweetie," she started to say, tried to say, God she didn't know what to say.

Beth opened her eyes and looked at Shelby. "You did," she hissed, shocked to the core. "Does Quinn know? Were they together? Did he cheat on her with you?" she demanded without drawing breath between questions. Beth wasn't totally sure that she actually wanted to know the answers. How would she feel if Quinn didn't know, Beth was quite sure that she would want to tell her, but would that ruin Puck and Quinn's relationship? Was she trying to find something to destroy it? Was she kidding herself that she had accepted that her birth parents were going to have a baby together, one that they were going to love and keep, going to raise together, with her just peeking through the window like an orphaned waif? "How could you?" she asked although she really, really did not want to know the answer to that question either.

"Beth, honey, it was...it was a one time thing," Shelby hurried to explain, "it wasn't a big deal, it just happened one time, I was upset, you'd been hurt and I'd had to take you to the emergency room, I went to pieces, Puck came and took control and I don't know what to say, I'm sorry," she finished sadly. "And he called out Quinn's name," she reminded herself silently, "I wonder if he did that with every woman he went with before he and Quinn finally got it together or if it was just with me, because of you?" she questioned in her head. "Either way, Puck didn't really want me, he wanted to be in your life, however he could be, he just imagined that he was in love with me." Shelby swallowed hard as she wondered exactly what she should tell her daughter. "I think I better call Puck and Quinn, I think this might be a group therapy session," she decided and sighed, her words left unspoken.

* * *

><p>"She just came out and asked me," Shelby hissed, conscious that Beth may not yet have fallen asleep. "I didn't know what to answer, she's really concerned about you, she's worried that you don't know about it, she's worried that you do, her main concern is you," she explained to Quinn. "I think she's worried about the baby and the effect that all of this may have on it. And I'm pleased that she wants to go to the ultrasound with you," she added, because she truly was pleased. Shelby hoped that the appointment would open Beth's eyes to what Puck and Quinn had gone through to bring her into the world, how amazing the event actually was and she hoped that Beth would realise what a momentous thing it would have been for a couple of teenagers with little or no support so that maybe, just maybe, she would realise that Puck and Quinn had done the best thing possible for Beth, given her up.<p>

"Where did she get this information from?" Quinn asked, completely at a loss as to where Beth's knowledge was coming from.

"From some diary or other, Sue something's diary," Shelby explained as she tried to make out the name half hidden in the weird drawings of a wild-haired man that was dangling from a scaffold, attached to a noose. "Whoever it is, this person is seriously disturbed, in my non-professional opinion," she added and tried yet again to read some of the incomprehensible, sadistic ramblings about what the author would like to do to the hanging man and his ginger spouse.

"I'll let Puck know, but do you think I could take a look at the diary?" Quinn asked. "I have a feeling it might be Sue Sylvester's," she added a second later when, out of nowhere, the idea popped into her head. "Wait a second, does it mention anything about waterboarding or hepatitis?" she asked, remembering some of the ramblings of Sue during her training sessions.

"It does, actually," Shelby replied, surprised that Quinn would even take a guess at those things, they were a bit random, a bit abstract.

"It's Sue's," Quinn sighed. "And I know exactly where Beth got it, or rather from whom," she announced. "Robyn Sylvester."

"Sue Sylvester the cheerleading coach?" Shelby asked incredulously, she vaguely remembered the woman from way back when she had briefly taken up a position within the walls of McKinley High School. Sue had been a scary woman then and if Shelby remembered correctly, she was actually pregnant at the time.

"Yes, that Sue Sylvester," Quinn answered with a heartfelt sigh. "And trust me, if there was dirt on anyone, Sue knew about it," she added and wondered what else was hidden in Sue's infernal journals.

* * *

><p>"Crap," Puck groaned when Quinn told him the unfortunate news. "Well, what can we do about it?" he sighed a few minutes later. "I mean, we already told her that I was an ass and I couldn't be trusted to keep my pants zipped," he reminded Quinn.<p>

"Hmm," Quinn hummed and gave Puck a rather telling look.

"I'm not like that anymore," Puck exclaimed and tugged Quinn into a hug. "I haven't been like that since before you decided that you would give us a real chance," he added and bent to kiss her. "Do you think it might be better for me to talk to Beth about it?" he asked.

"Actually, Shelby thinks we should get together and all of us explain," Quinn replied with a gulp. Quinn knew that, despite not being involved in the 'Shuck' affair, there had been things happening at the time that she wasn't particularly proud of. Quinn sighed heavily.

* * *

><p>"Hi," Beth said with a smile when she answered the door. "Mom says for you to come in," she added and stepped back to allow Puck and Quinn to enter the house. "We're in the kitchen, mom's baking, which means she's nervous," Beth explained with a roll of her eyes. Her mom never remembered that she only baked when she was nervous.<p>

"Hello," Shelby called as all three of them walked through the archway into the large, bright kitchen. "I'm just...just making a few cupcakes," she said then indicated the hundreds and hundreds of cupcakes that littered the counter tops.

"I can see that," Quinn mumbled and then couldn't help but smile, she remembered another baking session, where someone interrupted and said the same thing, she stole a glance at Puck, he grinned, he remembered too.

"Hi, but I think maybe there's enough there to feed Beth's entire school, so maybe this should be your last batch?" Puck suggested.

Shelby pulled a face and dumped the mixing bowl and it's contents into the sink. "I'll clean it up later," she said then turned back to the three people who were looking at her. "I think it's going to be easier to just get down to it," she sighed, because baking hadn't helped her to find an easier way of doing this. "So, ok, Beth, yes, you were right, Puck and I did have a fling," she confirmed, once everyone was sat around the table. "It was a one time thing, it was never going to be more than that," she insisted and risked a half glance at Puck, he barely reacted to that statement. "And the only reason it happened is because you had been injured and I fell apart," she told Beth, making her excuse.

Beth looked at Puck for him to confirm or deny her mother's words. "I agree, totally, it was a stupid, stupid act, it should never have happened," Puck said after a second, once he realised that Beth was waiting for him to speak.

Beth looked at Quinn. "What?" Quinn asked, she wasn't sure what Beth expected her to say.

"Did you know about it?" Beth asked.

"Yes," Quinn replied. "Puck left your mom and came to see me," she refrained from saying that he left Shelby's bed to come straight to hers, "and he told me all about it," she said. Quinn's hand sought Puck's under the table, her own hands were trembling. "We weren't actually together at the time," she thought it wise to clarify. "See, we had tried dating when we lived together when I was pregnant with you," Quinn decided that full disclosure might be better, plus she thought the intricacies of the Quick high school years might be enough of a distraction that Beth would forget what it was that she initially wanted to know. Quinn ploughed on, taking the story off on a tangent. "Well, we weren't actually _dating_, dating," she corrected herself. Quinn looked at Puck, he shrugged. "Ok, truth time. See, we told you before that we were both dating other people, right at the start, when we...when we..."

Beth interrupted. "Yes, we know, when he made you pregnant the first time," she said quickly and hoped that Quinn would explain things a bit better.

"Right, well, when I actually moved into his house," Quinn said and looked intently at Beth, "well, the house only has three bedrooms," she stated and then waited for a second. Beth said nothing. "Ruth? Rebecca? You met them the other day?" she reminded Beth. Beth still didn't get it. "Oh, I mean that, when I moved into his house with him and his family, we shared a room," she explained.

"And a bed," Puck added with a smile then flicked his eyebrows, covertly he hoped, as he thought back to how horny Quinn had been at that stage of her pregnancy, and the thought that he could still look forward to that part again, made the embarrassment factor just melt away.

"Oh," Beth cried, a little shocked, she got it now. "So you weren't dating but you slept together and had sex, obviously," she stated without any concession to anyones feelings.

"Yes," Quinn sighed, she might as well just go with it now. "So, Puck was always very...active in that area," she added delicately, she just couldn't make herself go into detail to a child, it was just wrong. "And a couple of weeks before you arrived, we'd been fighting, I moved out to stay with a friend and then, after you were born, my mom invited me back to live with her, so I didn't return to his house," she said and wondered why she had gone so far back into their history. Then she remembered. "So, through the summer, once it was possible for me to...to...," she stuttered, thankfully Beth nodded that she understood, "we did get together again, we still weren't actually dating, but we spent time together, did...stuff...together," she said and then cringed.

"You carried on sleeping together," Beth translated and watched Quinn blush and nod. Puck seemed to be trying to hide a smirk. "You can take over here," she offered him in a stern voice, he refused with a bigger smile.

"Yes, we did," Quinn agreed and felt a twinge of shame burn in her heart, she had never quite gotten over her mom calling her a slut and a whore when she found out that Puck and Quinn had continued their relationship. "Again, we didn't actually date, we never acknowledged in public that we were together, in fact, sometimes, it was a bit of a game to see who would hit on either of us, and if we felt like it, we took the other person up on it, sometimes we dated other people, but I for one, never slept with other people, not then anyway, it was only ever him," she said with a nod at Puck. "He did, he slept with other people all the time, which was why I would never have had a relationship with him, because he was always out screwing around somewhere," she told Beth in a harder voice. Puck cleared his throat to bring Quinn's attention back to the matter at hand. "Sorry, a bit too much information for you there," she admitted with an embarrassed laugh. "So, we were at the start of our junior year in high school, we had decided that a relationship wasn't for us, but we still liked to get together," she mumbled a little shyly, "and when Puck got into trouble with the police for doing something really stupid," she said and rolled her eyes, as ever, exasperated by the occasional stupidity of the man who was sitting beside her, "a new student at McKinley made a play for me and for once, I accepted," she told Beth. "It was quite innocent, I still didn't sleep with him, Sam, I really, really didn't want to, I mean, I still loved him," she said with a nod at Puck. "So, when he got out of juvenile detention," she added, making it sound as bad as she could, "I was already dating Sam, he began dating Santana again, because of her fake boobs" she almost growled, there was still some jealousy there.

"Wait a minute, did Sue Sylvester always call her Satan?" Beth asked, she shifted in her seat and pulled the journal out of her hoodie pocket. "Look, see?" she said and pointed at a drawing of a mohawked male and a female with enormous boobs with the word 'plastic' across them and Satan above her.

Puck laughed at the drawing. "Yep, that's Santana," he nodded with a grin. "Can I have a look at that?" he asked, he was interested in the whole journal, he wanted to know what else Sue Sylvester had known. Beth handed it over then returned her attention to Quinn, Shelby continued to sit in silence, only thankful that as it turned out, she wasn't Puck's greatest indiscretion, she'd been a mere blip, an aberration.

"So, we continued for a few months, up until Christmas time, right?" Quinn said and checked with Puck to make sure that she was remembering correctly. "I know that I was still dating Sam but I didn't want to be, and I know that Puck was still dating Santana but again, he was mixing it with a lot of different ladies," she said.

"Hey," Puck called. "It wasn't a lot," he corrected. "Just a couple of my pool clients," he pouted. "And you," he reminded Quinn. She glared, but she couldn't deny it. "We did, we still slept together nearly every night," Puck admitted, "either I would climb the drain pipe to her bathroom, she always left the window open for me, or she would come over to mine and I would let her in when my mom went out to work for her night shift. "We were always careful not to get caught," he said proudly.

"Except for the time my mom came in to my room very early in the morning and found us still asleep," Quinn remembered. Judy had not been pleased when she had seen her naked daughter wrapped up in the arms of the equally naked Noah Puckerman, the boy who had been instrumental in destroying her daughter's life. The only reason that Judy had not gone public with the information was that she didn't want anyone at church finding out what a slut and a whore her daughter actually was. In Judy's eyes, once was forgivable, repeated offenses were not. There was still the littlest tinge of animosity towards Judy from Quinn, she hadn't appreciated being described as the daughter of Satan, or a harlot, but Judy had gone to town with the insults until Quinn had left for a few days and stayed at Puck's. Judy had backed down so that Quinn would return home, but the relationship never fully recovered, although in truth, it had been struggling ever since Judy had showed up at Regionals to find Quinn standing in a growing pool of amniotic fluid, but at least while Puck had been out of the equation there had been a slight chance of a full recovery. Once Puck was part of the package, Judy couldn't take it, she blamed him, unfairly, for the total destruction of her family.

"Anyway, where was I?" Quinn asked, she had lost herself in her own memories and they were getting a little twisted in her mind. "Ok, so, after the holidays, once things were back to normal and we were working on Regionals and Nationals," she said, bringing the story back on track, "I was also thinking about prom," she remembered, Puck made a sound, a scoffing sound, it still pissed him off, the trouble that she'd gone to, just for a crown that she didn't even win.

"Yeah, that was about the time that we decided that we were bad for each other and broke things off, right?" Puck butted in, his voice was hard because he remembered, with some embarrassment, how things had gone for a while.

"Yes, you were exclusively dating Lauren Zizes at that point, weren't you? Round about Valentine's, right?" Quinn sniped at Puck, she still hated that part of their life. It had nearly killed her that Puck had preferred to be with someone who was so less than perfect, who didn't strive, every day, to make the best of their appearance, who was comfortable enough in her own abilities to allow the world to see every flaw and imperfection, when Quinn couldn't do that, she'd undergone surgery so that she didn't do that.

"How was it exclusive if I was still sleeping with you every night?" Puck demanded, he was getting just a bit pissed with Quinn's judgmental attitude. "Look, there was never a time when we didn't sleep together, except for when you had your accident and that was because you couldn't open your bathroom window and you couldn't drive over to my house," he stated, just to get it all out there. "I think we're really going off track here, the point is that, yes, there was one single incident, Beth, but it was meaningless," he said with a touch of cruelty. "And, I'm sorry Shelby," he apologised silently, "but if I remember correctly, it was Quinn I was thinking of the whole time, why else would I have shouted out her name?"

"I gave you a key," Quinn muttered and pouted as she sat back a touch. She remembered when she was confined to a wheelchair, unable to get around by herself. Judy had turned the den into a bedroom for Quinn, the adjoining bathroom was roomy enough to accommodate Quinn's wheelchair, it was more of a wet room than a shower stall, so that made things even easier. What else made things easier was that while Quinn was on the first floor, Judy was on the second and she never heard Puck coming and going, letting himself in once the lights were turned off downstairs and leaving at the crack of dawn. Quinn was quite sure that her mother suspected, but she'd never asked and Quinn had never told.

"Yes, I had a key and I kept it right up until you went away to Yale," Puck sighed. "Actually, that was where we finished, wasn't it?" he asked. "When you went off to college, that was really the first time in three years that we weren't really together," he mused, finally realising that for the whole three years, they had been a couple, they'd been a bit unconventional, but they had been a couple and skimming through Sue's journals, it seemed that she knew it already. "Oh my God," Puck whispered. "Listen to this," he said then read out a few sentences. "I see the Sperminator is still up to his old tricks with Lady Madonna, no idea when her mother will open her eyes to the fact that the girl is not even anything like a virgin," he snickered a little then read some more, "but maybe she should try to wake her daughter up earlier in the mornings," he read out. "So it was Sue who warned your mother," he concluded. Puck read out some more, some that he knew would surprise almost everyone at the table. "And he said no, how dare he? Journal, I felt sure he would agree, if only to keep her safe, keep her secret, what am I going to do now? I only have a small window of opportunity, I think I have to take drastic measures." Puck looked over the top of the book. "Sue asked me to be her sperm donor," he revealed. "She said that if I would agree, she wouldn't tell the world that you and I were together," he explained then sighed. "I still refused, but I think I know who did it," Puck sighed. "I think I know who Robyn's dad is," he said and looked around the table with surprise in his eyes. "Finn, I think Finn did it," he said with a gulp. "When he went off to college, and we shared a dorm for a while, he was sleep talking a lot," Puck said with an intensity that almost scared Quinn. "He was going on and on about not telling his mom about the baby, about Rachel not finding out, he kept saying that if Rachel knew he'd used her pictures to...to...well, oh," he cried, unable to say it in the crude way he would have with guys present or the more clinical way with his daughter present, "you know what I mean," he demanded of Quinn and Shelby, his eyes were pained.

"Yes, we know what you mean," Shelby agreed.

"I don't," Beth pouted and folded her arms across her chest, this was all running away from her and she didn't like it, she'd loved it when Quinn was telling her all about their story, because, as much as they'd initially said that it was a fling, just something that happened, it turned out it was a love story after all, it was a true romance, they just didn't see it because they were too close to it.

"We have to find out for sure," Quinn insisted, her interest was certainly piqued. "Carole needs to know about this," she decided.

"Quinn, you can't just wade in and get Carole's hopes up, what if we're wrong? What if the insemination was unsuccessful from Finn? What if she used someone else?" Puck asked, and all of his questions were more than reasonable. Puck glanced at Shelby, she seemed equally pleased that the focus had been deflected from both of them and on to Robyn Sylvester.

"I'm going to go and see Sue, I'm going to ask her straight out," Quinn announced with a firm nod.

"But not tomorrow," Puck reminded her. "We have the ultrasound appointment tomorrow," he said with a wink at Beth. "It'll be interesting to see if we can tell whether you're going to get a brother or a sister," he grinned at her, Beth grinned back, she was beginning to get excited about the prospect of a sibling.

"I have a question," Beth said carefully, she'd half raised her hand to get attention.

"Yes, sweetie?" Shelby asked, almost ready to give in to any reasonable demand from her daughter. Except for the skiing trip that she kept asking about for the week before Christmas. Shelby was quite annoyed that the school would even arrange such a thing for that time of year, when families all want to be together and life is so busy.

"I know summer break is a long way off," Beth started and shifted nervously in her seat, "but do you think I would be able to come and stay with you for a couple of nights? You know, after the baby comes?" she asked.

Puck swallowed hard, he glanced at Shelby. Quinn filled up with tears, she gulped and glanced at Shelby. No one spoke. Shelby worked hard to get herself under control before she spoke. "I think that is something we can discuss nearer to the time," she finally managed to say. Shelby had never felt so scared in her life, she felt like her baby was running away from her, turning her back on her, like, she'd found her blood kin and that was all she wanted.

"Mom, it doesn't mean I don't love you," Beth said and turned beseeching eyes on her mother. "I would just like a chance to be a real big sister," she explained with a shrug.

"Maybe," Quinn answered and reached out to Beth, she needed her to understand that the request was a wonderful one, but it was the adults that would need to come to terms with it, Puck and Quinn would love for Beth to take an active role in their family, both now and in the future, Shelby still had to work on accepting that Beth was going to want to be involved with her birth parents and her siblings. "Maybe, it's something we'll work on, right?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: Hey baby, I'm your big sister...**

Beth tossed and turned in her bed all night. By the time she woke up on Friday morning, she realised that almost everything she had wanted to know had been skimmed over, bypassed and actually she was quite impressed. Quinn had baffled her with so much information that Beth had been distracted from her original enquiry. But she wondered if Puck was right about Robyn, about her father. That would be quite cool, to be the holder of information for a change.

"Hey, sweetie," Shelby said as she opened Beth's bedroom door. "Quinn just called to remind you that you are staying at school with her until Puck picks you both up for the doctor appointment, alright?" she said pleasantly then headed downstairs to make breakfast.

"I remember," Beth replied with a forced smile. It was only yesterday that Quinn had told her about it, she hadn't forgotten already. Beth sighed and flopped over onto her back. "Yes, I'm getting up now," she shouted back in answer to her mom's reminder to get up and get in the shower. Beth growled and dragged herself into her bathroom.

* * *

><p>"What's up with you?" Robyn asked as Beth sighed once again. Beth hadn't spoken at all, all she'd done all morning was sigh and flop around in the manner of teens and pre-teens the world over. "You can tell me, you know," she encouraged her friend to talk.<p>

"Doesn't even matter," Beth replied, she didn't want to talk about stuff with anyone outside of Puck, Quinn and her mom. And apparently, this Rachel person was coming to visit next week, she'd been informed just before she left the house to get the bus to school. Beth frowned even harder and sighed again.

"Ok," Robyn whispered to herself and left Beth to it.

* * *

><p>"There he is," Quinn said as Puck pulled into the parking lot, she and Beth watched as he maneuvered his way around the tight space to come to a stop beside them. "Hi," she said with a happy smile on her face as she opened the rear passenger door for Beth. "In you get, honey," she encouraged then climbed into the front seat herself.<p>

"Hey," Puck murmured as he pressed a quick kiss to Quinn's shiny lips before he turned and winked at Beth. "Hey," he said to her too, "are you excited for this?" he asked. Beth nodded though she was a little unsure, she wasn't entirely sure that she was ready for this momentous event in her life.

It was a quick ride to Dr Wen's office, Puck sang along with the radio, Beth joined in too, although much quieter. Quinn couldn't manage a word. What if the test had been wrong? What if, when they got there, Dr Wen looked with his ultrasound equipment and there was nothing there? Quinn felt physically sick.

"Good afternoon," the pleasant looking doctor said as he rose to shake hands with all three of them. "It's really nice that you've made this a family event," he said with a glance towards Beth. "And what's your name, young lady?" he asked.

"Beth Corcoran," Beth answered and shrank back in her seat, she really didn't want to come to any attention just now, she just wanted to blend into the background and let Puck and Quinn take all the attention.

"We actually had Beth when we were just sixteen years old," Puck explained once again, "and she was adopted, hence the name, and just recently we have reconnected with Beth and her mother, so, here she is, to meet the newest member of our family," he added with a sort of voice that encouraged the doctor to get on with the appointment rather than ask any more questions.

"Fine, so, you know what to expect," Dr Wen said with a smile at Quinn. "First of all, I need these to be filled," he said and handed her a couple of thin, test tube like bottles. "Bathroom is that way," he indicated the direction. Quinn went out of the room, this had been the part that she had hated so much. As directed, Quinn left the bottles on the shelf in the bathroom and pressed the buzzer to alert the nurse that she had samples to test, then returned to Dr Wen's office. "Ok, good, so, next step, we'll take a look, see how far along we are," he muttered as he made notes on his computer.

"We?" Quinn thought mutinously. "I don't see any 'we' when I'm on my knees puking."

Puck took hold of Quinn's hand very, very carefully, he could almost see her hackles rise as the doctor continued talking. "Oh crap," he sighed to himself, "I think we need to find a new OB, I don't think this one is going to work out too well."

"Who is this fool?" Beth thought. "I hate it when people say we instead of you, like they are there with you. I don't think so."

"This way please," Dr Wen called as he stood and went to the door to another room. All three followed him with varying degrees of trepidation. Quinn was shivering with nerves, Puck was quite excited and Beth was apprehensive, she'd never actually seen an ultrasound scan before, she'd never had any reason to, and she wasn't entirely sure of what it would show, she didn't particularly want a close up view of Quinn's liver or kidneys.

"Now, let's get ourselves comfortable," Dr Wen encouraged and helped Quinn to get into the best position for a good viewing. "I'll take some measurements first and then we'll turn the screen round for mommy and daddy to see, ok?"

"Again with the 'we' business," Beth growled in her head.

Quinn held herself back from snapping at the doctor, Puck wondered if any of the teachers that Quinn worked with had any better OB's in their phone books, because this guy was seriously pissing him off. Beth rolled her eyes and pulled a face, Puck caught sight of it and gave her a wink and a half smile, they grinned at each other.

After what seemed like an age, when Quinn was about ready to climb off the couch and cover up her rounded stomach, she'd decided that the doctor hadn't been able to find a baby at all, she'd decided that she wasn't really pregnant, she'd just eaten way too much of Ruth's barbecue chicken. "Here we are," Dr Wen said with a touch of thrilled excitement. "Now, I must say, baby in this position, it is extremely clear what gender it is, do we want to know?" he asked with his eyebrows up and his eyes wide.

Puck glanced at Quinn and at Beth, they both nodded. "We sure do," he replied, with the emphasis on the 'we' part.

"Ok, mommy, daddy, big sister," Dr Wen said, prolonging the wait as he very slowly turned the screen their way, "meet the future Master Puckerman," he announced.

"Wow," Puck cried, Jeez, the doctor hadn't been kidding, it was blatantly obvious what the baby was. "Go, son," he whispered.

"Oh, no, no, that's the umbilical cord," Dr Wen corrected with a muffled chuckle. "You would be surprised how many people confuse that with...that," he reassured Puck as he pointed at a much smaller piece of male anatomy, "but it's still there," he told him.

Beth could barely contain the laughter, she knew exactly what Puck thought it was, secretly she had thought so too, but she would probably never admit that. "Wow," she sighed as she studied the baby's - her brother's - face. The 3D image made it seem as though they were looking at a photograph. "Oh, how cool," she exclaimed when the baby turned himself the whole way over. "He's mooning us," she giggled. "What are we going to call him?" she asked Puck, and glanced at the oblivious doctor.

Puck caught on straight away, he loved that Beth was mocking the guy, that she felt that she could share a secret like that with him. "I don't know, I think we may have to call a family conference, won't we?" he replied. Quinn wiped the tears away and looked again at the tiny human inside her. She wanted to speak, she wanted to say something but she didn't think she possibly could, not past the huge lump that was lodged in her throat. "So, how far along are we?" Puck asked and felt the nudge on his foot from Beth.

"Fourteen weeks and three days according to this, and believe me, the data is incredibly accurate," Dr Wen said with pride, "we have an expected due date of April 11th," he told Quinn, who was still struggling to contain her emotions. "And this is one happy, healthy little boy," he added.

"Wow," Puck sighed as he stared at the wiggling shape on the screen. "Can we get some pictures? DVDs?" he asked, after he'd kissed Quinn's knuckles over and over again. "My mom would spit if we didn't get them," he grinned. Dr Wen nodded and pressed buttons on the console. "Oh my God," he sighed quietly when the doctor handed him the pictures. "It's like a photograph," he said and showed Quinn. "They weren't this good when you were in there," he told Beth then hugged her close and studied the picture with her. "Look, look at that, he has the exact same nose as you, thank God, at least you both got Quinn's nose and not mine," he pointed out with a slight laugh.

"He's beautiful," Beth sighed as she saw even more detail in the close up picture of the baby's face.

"You're beautiful," Quinn told Beth softly as she sat up on the edge of the examining table. Beth leaned into Quinn's hug, as naturally as she had ever done with Shelby, Quinn held in the sob that bubbled up from her chest. For the first time in twelve years, Quinn felt totally at peace with her decision to give her daughter to another woman to raise, because despite how many times she had uttered the words, she had never truly felt that it was the right thing to do. Now, in the face of finally becoming a parent at the grand old age of twenty-nine, she knew that her sixteen-year-old self would have disintegrated under the pressure. She was just thankful that Beth seemed to have forgiven her.

* * *

><p>"He truly is a beauty," Shelby agreed as she peered at the picture with Beth. "He looks like you," she told her and kissed her daughter's head. "Are you pleased that you went?" she asked.<p>

"Yes, it was very interesting," Beth replied as she studied the picture over and over. She was actually trying to imagine herself in that place, in that context, and trying to imagine what Quinn had felt like. "I don't think I'd want to go to any other appointments," she admitted, "but I'd like to go to the ultrasound ones, just to keep seeing George grow," she told her mom with a grin.

"Is that what they're going to call the baby? George?" Shelby asked as she turned to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"Nope, it's what I've decided to call him, he looks like a George," Beth grinned then spun away to head upstairs to do her homework so that she had the rest of her weekend clear to chill and do nothing.

* * *

><p>"Ah, he is so sweet," Ruth crooned as she poured over the picture of her grandson. "Will you call him Noah?" she asked Puck excitedly.<p>

"I think one Noah Puckerman is enough for any family," Quinn teased and rubbed her hand across her stomach. It was only slightly rounded, she just looked like she hadn't exercised for a while, or like she'd had a really big meal, she didn't actually look pregnant yet. Quinn couldn't wait to be able to wear maternity clothes. Unlike the last time, she wasn't doing a thing to hide this pregnancy, she had decided that she would just flaunt it, if anyone guessed, if they figured it out, she'd admit it happily, proudly. Actually, she wanted to yell it from the rooftops, now that she had actual physical, visible proof.

"Mom," Puck sighed and rubbed her shoulders from behind her, "you know how you always think that every single person on the planet should have a good Hebrew name?" he asked her, Ruth glanced over her shoulder to see her son's face. "Female line, mom, just bear in mind that technically, junior in there isn't of Hebrew descent," he reminded her.

"But if Quinn," Ruth began before Puck cut her off.

"We are not making any decisions just yet, not about a name for him, not about which faith he will follow," Puck insisted. "Please, mom, just be happy that we are finally giving you the grandchild that you crave and let's leave it at that, shall we?"

"Fine," Ruth muttered with an exaggerated scowl. "But there are a lot of fine Hebrew names that blend well with bible names," she muttered, she hoped that they would take that on board. Puck said nothing, he just gave his mom a look and a sigh. "Fine," Ruth repeated.

* * *

><p>"Rachel, hi," Quinn cried when she opened the door on Saturday morning. "I am so pleased to see you," she said and hugged her friend close. "You're staying with us, right?" she asked hopefully.<p>

"If you'll have me," Rachel answered, her voice a little broken, she felt quite emotional at coming back to Lima. The last time she'd been in Lima had been for Puck and Quinn's wedding and again, that had been so emotional. Puck had insisted on an empty chair at the table where all of their friends sat. Finn's chair, and all of them had raised a glass to Finn, absolutely certain that he would have been looking in on the occasion, certain that he would have been happy for his best friend, for Quinn. "You look wonderful," she sniffed as she pulled away from Quinn to give her the once over. "You're glowing, absolutely glowing, what's your secret?" she teased. Quinn blushed and bit her lip. "You're pregnant?" Rachel squealed with excitement, Quinn nodded and was almost bowled over by the strength of Rachel's hug.

"Can we actually get in the house?" Quinn muttered, her voice almost cut off by Rachel's grip on her.

"Sorry, sorry," Rachel apologised. "Oh I am so happy for you guys," she sighed as they walked into the kitchen together. "So tell me, what's going on? Why did Shelby ask me to come?" she asked.

"It's about Beth," Quinn sighed. "Beth has decided that she wanted to be involved with me and Puck," she explained. "There was some hesitation at first, more from Shelby than Beth, Beth was pissed with Shelby for not telling her before that she was adopted," she added and again, wondered why Shelby had done that, it still confused Quinn. "And there's something else too," she said quietly and concentrated on Rachel's face. "We believe that there is a possibility that Finn was the sperm donor for Su..." Quinn stopped abruptly when Rachel said the name.

"Sue Sylvester, I know," Rachel said, in a matter of fact way. "He told me about it, not actually at the time, but a few months before he died, we had a really intense heart to heart, we spoke about everything, all sorts," she explained. "And one of the things was about this, you know, he actually used pictures of me to hm, well, you know," she muttered with as much expression in her eyes as was in her voice.

"Yes, he told Puck while he was sleep talking," Quinn replied with a wince. "Does Carole know?" she asked.

"No, he never told her, I don't think," Rachel said and pondered for a moment. "I have something here," she announced and delved into her expensive, voluminous purse. "I always carry it around with me, I know its stupid, its ridiculous, actually, but it's a print out of Sue's, Finn's and the baby's DNA. I carry it so that I always have a little piece of Finn with me. Like my good luck charm, or something. Is that ridiculous?"

"No," Quinn answered quietly, her voice had almost disappeared into her tears. "I think we should let Carole know, we should tell her. I know that she's never recovered from it, and I also know that Sue is not herself right now and the one who is suffering is Robyn. I just wonder if Carole could do something to help out, Robyn is her granddaughter, after all," she explained once she had cleared her throat.

"I think you might be right," Rachel agreed. "I think we should go and see Sue first, find out if she has any objections," she decided. Quinn agreed.

* * *

><p>Just before midday, Quinn and Rachel arrived at the address that Quinn had acquired via Sam Evans. "Everything looks ok," Quinn muttered nervously as she glanced around the yard and at the house.<p>

"Looks can be deceiving," Rachel reminded her and then stepped carefully onto the porch, as if she was afraid of hidden booby traps or something. "So far, so good," she whispered over her shoulder to Quinn.

Suddenly the door opened and Sue Sylvester appeared. "What do you want?" she yelled at them both, her manner was pure aggression, she was dressed as usual in one of her many, many track suits, but she looked disheveled, unkempt.

"We wanted to talk to you," Quinn announced, she stepped in front of Rachel, sure that Sue would respond favourably to her at least. "We wanted to talk to you about Robyn," she explained further, gentler.

"Why?" Sue asked, mystified, why would these people want to talk to her about her daughter?

"We know that Finn was the donor," Rachel said softly as she stepped to Quinn's side. "I have the DNA report that you sent to him when he asked for it," she added and touched the side of her purse.

"So?" Sue asked, still clueless as to why they had come.

"Well, we have a few concerns right now," Quinn began. "Look, could we come in?" she asked. "It would be better if we could come in," she nodded. Rachel nodded too and glanced at Quinn.

"Fine, come in," Sue agreed and spun away from the door, allowing them both to enter. "What do you hope to find here?" she demanded once the door was closed.

"I er I don't know," Quinn admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Robyn mentioned some things and I just, I feel I have to check it out, for my own peace of mind," she told Sue.

"What did she say?" Sue asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Erm, something about always polishing trophies," Quinn replied, her tone was entirely uncertain now as she glanced around and saw the hundreds and hundreds of trophies that filled the house.

"Do you know how long it takes to polish all of these?" Sue asked as she indicated room after room, the walls of each were lined with trophies. "Months, it is a dedicated task and it takes months. As soon as you get to the end, you have to start at the beginning, it's like painting the Golden Gate Bridge, it's a never ending task. Of course I'm always polishing the trophies, if they gathered dust, Robyn's asthma would kick in and I wouldn't want that to happen, now would I?" she demanded, exasperated with the stupidity of these girls. "I was just in the attic, I managed to make some more space up there for the trophies that we won in Britain, they weren't like real competitions, they were more of a showcase than real competitions, I just don't feel like we genuinely won those," she sighed with a nod towards a dozen or more huge trophies.

"I'm sorry, I...I feel like we made some sort of mistake," Quinn whispered, embarrassed that she had succumbed to Robyn's suggestions.

"I still feel that Carole Hummel has a right to know about Robyn," Rachel told Sue, and she really, truly did.

"I agree," Sue said quietly and sat down. "I know I'm not getting any younger," she admitted for the first time ever. "What if something was to happen to me?" she asked. "I mean, Robyn is well provided for, there's no question of that, but you're right, she does deserve to have more than just me," she said and then gulped. Quinn reached out and patted Sue's shaking hand. "You know, Q, you have that look about you," she told her, she leaned back and narrowed her eyes, she gave Quinn the total once over. "Hmm, I've seen that look on you before," she smirked. "The Sperminator strikes again, huh?" she teased, Quinn blushed. "I'm pleased for you," she whispered as she hugged Quinn close.

"Thank you," Quinn managed to whisper, though her voice was so emotionally charged, even Sue Sylvester had tears in her eyes.

"Will you speak to Carole for me?" Sue asked Quinn and Rachel.

"Of course," Rachel agreed immediately, she would be so happy to do so, so happy to give Carole something to ease her pain, at least, Rachel hoped it would.

* * *

><p>"So she just admitted it?" Puck asked, totally amazed at how simple the task had been.<p>

"Yes," Rachel replied, all three of them were in the kitchen, Rachel and Quinn were watching Puck cooking their meal, Rachel and Puck had a large glass of wine each, Quinn had an equally large glass of water. Rachel took a sip of her wine. "Shocked the hell out of me, I can tell you," she murmured, and it really had. "Hey," she called to Puck, he looked up from his task. "Congratulations, daddy," she grinned and patted Quinn's tummy. "Are you excited that it's a boy?" she asked and looked at both to answer.

"I think I'm relieved," Quinn replied slowly. "I think it might have been harder on Beth if it had been a girl, you know?" she explained.

"Hm, I think you're right, I mean, I often wondered, at least in the early days, if Shelby had deliberately adopted a girl to replace me," Rachel told Quinn, it was a sort of weird thought, but Quinn could see the logic, see how Rachel's thought pattern had worked. "I suppose I have to go and see her tomorrow," she sighed. "I mean, I know we've spoken on the phone quite a bit over the last few years, but we haven't seen each other face to face since she left Lima the last time," she pouted. "And I know that you think that was your fault," she sighed and then felt a band of tension that she had carried with her for years, felt it melt away, "but it wasn't, it was mine," she announced. "Puck, I know that you slept with her, Quinn told me," she explained as Puck glanced at Quinn, "and yes, I stopped you from going to the authorities," she reminded Quinn, her eyes were pleading for understanding, "but I couldn't stop myself from going to Shelby and telling her what I thought about her, and I was awful, horrible, I was so cruel," she admitted. "I was nasty, I...I threatened her with CPS, I told her that I would swear in court that I had seen her being cruel to Beth, I just wanted to get her away from you," she said, looking at Puck with watery eyes. "I wanted, no, I _needed _for you two to carry on the way you had done for the previous few years, otherwise I just knew that I would lose Finn to you," she said to Quinn, her voice cracked as the tears flowed.

"What?" Puck asked, again, almost shell shocked at the revelations. "I would never have gone with Shelby," he told both sniffling women. "I know you don't really want to hear this," he muttered and looked up at the ceiling in an attempt to overcome his embarrassment, "but at the end there with her, right when I...er...you know," he mumbled and concentrated on chopping more tomatoes, "I couldn't stop myself from shouting out your name," he admitted. "After that happened a few times with different girls, women, I sort of stopped even trying with them, there didn't seem any point," he sighed. "I was always thinking of you even if I was with someone else," he shrugged.

"Thanks, I think," Quinn replied but looked a little hurt, a little disgusted.

"And what do you mean?" Puck suddenly asked Rachel. "What had we been like?" he demanded.

"Oh, God," Rachel cried. "You think you hid it from anyone?" she laughed. "Except for maybe your mom," she told Quinn. "We all knew, even Santana, even Lauren," she claimed, still laughing. "Poor Sam, he didn't realise until he had broken up with you and we were at that party at my house, remember?" she asked, both Puck and Quinn nodded. "You were yelling at him about your abs or something, Lauren was yelling at you for something else, but you only had eyes for Quinn and then you both disappeared for about an hour," she added with interest in her eyes.

"Oh, God, the closet," Quinn remembered and laughed with embarrassment. Puck burst out laughing and continued with the cooking. He remembered the closet too.

"I'm not even going to ask," Rachel declared and finished her glass of wine. It turned out to be a really good evening.

* * *

><p>"So opening night was not so good?" Shelby asked a little uncomfortably as she and Rachel sat facing each other over the table in the kitchen on Sunday.<p>

"No," Rachel sighed. "This last one was definitely a flop," she pouted. "Still, Blaine has something for me starting in December," she revealed although she didn't say what, but her eyes glowed so Shelby knew it had to be something good.

"I'm glad that we could have this time to talk alone," Shelby said quietly and then looked up into Rachel's eyes, it was like looking in a mirror. "I know I have a lot to apologise to you for," she told her.

"No, Shelby, no," Rachel said and reached out to cover her hand. "No, I'm the one who has to apologise," she insisted. "I acted out of spite and jealousy, out of fear and I don't know, I was like a spoiled little girl who wasn't getting my own way," she admitted. "And I am so sorry, for threatening you like that," she said firmly, she meant every word. "It was me it was to do with, my own insecurities," she revealed. "I thought that, if Puck was with you, then Finn would leave me for Quinn," she said simply, and it genuinely had been that simple, at least in Rachel's mind.

"Rachel, Finn would never have left you, not for anyone," Shelby insisted. "He loved you, he truly loved you, he would never have left you."

"But he did," Rachel whispered sadly. Shelby walked around the table and hugged her daughter, hugged her tight, tried to give her what comfort she could. And felt blessed to be allowed to do so.

* * *

><p>"Beth, this is my daughter, my <em>other<em> daughter, Rachel Berry," Shelby announced when Puck and Quinn brought Beth back from the mall.

"Hi," Beth said shyly. She stayed close to Quinn, she was really nervous, here was a Broadway star, right here, in their kitchen. She couldn't believe how absolutely start struck she was.

"Hey Rach," Puck said and stepped closer to give her a hug, kiss her cheek, Quinn did the same.

"Beth, you are so like Quinn, you look just like her," Rachel cried and reached to hug her. Beth allowed it to happen but was a little reserved. "So, tell me, what did you buy for your little brother?" she asked, Quinn had said that they were going to the mall to distract Beth with a little retail therapy to give Rachel and Shelby a chance to talk, a chance to fix things.

"A few onsies, really cool ones with sayings on them and that's it," Beth replied, glancing into the bags that were still in her hands. "Quinn says it's too soon to be buying lots of stuff," she shrugged, she didn't get the whole superstition thing.

"May I see?" Rachel asked, she was really trying to get Beth to open up, but as yet, she was still reserved. Beth showed her the 'Lock Up Your Daughters' onsie, the 'I'm Cute, Mom's Cute, Dad's Lucky' onsie, the 'Mmm, dinner,' onsie with the lines on that suggested a plump pair of boobs and the 'Ladies, I Have Arrived' onsie, that was the one that made Beth giggle the most. "Cute," Rachel smiled and passed them back to Beth. "I'm taking us all out for dinner tonight," she announced and looked around ready to quell any objections.

"We can't, tonight," Puck sighed. They really did have a previous engagement with his mom and sister, it was something of a family anniversary, one that was never ignored and if they didn't show, Ruth would be after blood. Theirs.

"Oh," Rachel pouted theatrically. "But you guys can, right?" she asked Beth and Shelby. "You won't leave me hanging like these two losers, will you?" she pleaded teasingly with Beth. Beth grinned and shook her head, Puck was gasping at being called a loser. "Cool."

* * *

><p>Breadstix, with her mom, her 'sister' and her sister's two gay dads, was quite a surreal experience for Beth. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom," she whispered to her mom after the starters. Shelby nodded then turned her attention back to Hiram who was spouting something that no one else in the world wanted to listen to. Beth hurried away to the ladies. "Robyn, you have no idea," she whispered into her phone when her friend answered her call. "I wish someone would come and rescue me," she added, she checked the time. "I'm going to have to go back, otherwise my mom is going to send search and rescue in here after me," she muttered almost seriously.<p>

"Later," Robyn whispered back, she glanced over at her mom who was watching one of her endless Cheerio DVDs.

"Lady Madonna and Poisonberry came to see me yesterday," Sue announced as she slowly polished yet another trophy. "They were worried about you," she added, still without looking at her daughter. Robyn watched her mother warily, she wondered what she was going to say next. "I know that you know who they are, I also know that you read my journals, and that you gave them to Beth Corcoran," Sue said and then looked over at Robyn. Robyn could see that her mom didn't look angry or upset, she just looked like herself. "I know that you were looking in them to see if you could work out who your biological father is," Sue forced herself not to say 'was', she thought it might be too much of a give away if she used the past tense. "Quinn and Rachel," she said, giving both girls their proper names, "convinced me that you should know the other half of you, that you should be able to have that relationship. They're right, I'm sorry that I denied you that," she apologised. "Rachel is going to pave the way," she explained. "Once I know that things can go ahead, I will tell you who your father is," she promised. Robyn gulped and nodded, she couldn't ever remember a time when she had been so silent before, but she genuinely could not think of a single thing to say. She was astounded.

* * *

><p>Puck pulled Quinn close to him as soon as they settled into bed. "Do you think Sue will really tell Robyn?" he mumbled tiredly.<p>

"Mmm," Quinn sighed her reply, she hoped that Puck wasn't going to want to talk all night, Monday morning was always the most tiring one of the week and she needed her sleep.

Puck sighed and shifted behind her as he tried to get more comfortable. "I think Finn is a really good name," he said and stroked his fingers over the little bump where their son lay.

"I do too," Quinn whispered back and had to swallow down the tears that threatened to fall. "I think he would have liked that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: Our grandmas are best friends!**

"Hi Quinn," Beth said with a smile as she arrived at the table in the food court. "Hello," she added to Judy. "Do I call you...?" she asked, trying to remember this woman's preference.

"Grandma, if you'd like," Judy replied with the best, pleasantest smile that she could muster, she was determined to end this ridiculous state of affairs between herself and her daughter, and it seemed the only way to do that was to accept into her life the granddaughter who's advent had been instrumental in destroying their relationship in the first place. "Oh, there's Ruth," she said as she glanced over Beth's shoulder to see Ruth Puckerman hurrying towards them.

"Hi," Ruth called from a few feet away. "Quinn, sweetie, you look just amazing, yellow is definitely your colour," she complimented. "Judy, hello," she added. "Beth, darling, come and give your nana a hug," she instructed and held her arms out to the young girl. "Where's your mom? Oh, I see her," she said as Shelby arrived carrying a tray of steaming coffee mugs. "Rachel," she cried when she spotted the younger brunette behind the older one. "Oh my word, I have not seen you in the longest time, how are you?" she asked and hugged Rachel tight.

"I'm good, Ruth, how are you? How is Rebecca doing in college?" Rachel asked.

"Fine, she's doing fine," Ruth replied as she sat down at the table. "So this is wonderful," she added as she caught her breath. "I feel like we're just one big happy family, all part of one tree, just lots of different branches," she mused as she sipped her coffee.

"Very eloquent," Quinn grinned and nudged Ruth with her shoulder. "So, how have you been mom?" she asked Judy. "I haven't heard from you since dinner the other day," she noted.

"I'm fine, I've been busy," Judy replied, it was a strain, it was always a strain to begin a conversation, she never felt that she had anything in common with people, nothing that she could talk about with anyone. "Frannie was excited to hear your news," she added after a few moments.

"Great," Quinn replied, also struggling to find common ground. "So, here's the ultrasound pictures," she said suddenly, remembering why they were all together in the first place. "There he is, your grandson," she told her mom.

Judy melted, quite literally, she melted. She looked at the picture of her daughter's unborn child and melted. "Oh, Quinnie," she sighed, her eyes were full of tears and her face showed every emotion. "I am so happy for you," she told her honestly. Quinn felt as though a corner had been turned.

* * *

><p>"And I bought these, too," Quinn said, holding the dresses against herself and giving Puck a little bit of a fashion show.<p>

"Great," Puck replied, "but show me the underwear again," he grinned and pulled Quinn close to kiss her. "I'm glad you had a good time, seems like your mom did too," he noted.

"She did," Quinn sighed happily. "Look at this, she chose this for the baby," she exclaimed and brought a beautiful crocheted blanket out of a large shopping bag that was emblazoned with the name of a very exclusive baby store. "Isn't it gorgeous?" she asked.

"It is," Puck answered and nodded, he was impressed, not so much with the blanket, sure it was nice, but it was just a blanket. No, the thing that had impressed Puck was that Judy had made the effort to do something nice for Quinn. "So did you talk to my mom about Robyn?" he asked.

"Yes, Rachel and I managed to get her on her own for a few minutes, we had Beth distract my mom, she took her off to somewhere girlie and force-fed her glitter or something," she joked. "Anyway, your mom thinks that Rachel and I should go to Carole with the information that we have, the DNA report and Sue's confession," she said then bit her lip. "I'm still a little scared though, what if she doesn't want to know?"

"I think that she will," Puck said quietly, giving the matter even more thought. He truly believed that Carole's troubled heart would be soothed by the knowledge that her son left something of himself behind, it might make her feel that his life was not wasted, that he wasn't totally lost. Puck really hoped for that, for Robyn's sake as much as Carole's.

* * *

><p>Quinn wore one of her new empire line dresses for school the next day. The style flattered her and also drew a little emphasis to her burgeoning waistline. She waited almost all day for someone to say something, but no one did, not until the penultimate class of the day.<p>

"Do you think Ms Puckerman is pregnant? She looks pregnant. Or fat," Robyn whispered to Beth as they sat in class. Robyn was staring intently at Quinn, like she was trying to figure out Quinn's subtly altered shape. Unfortunately, Robyn's question wasn't quite as whispered as she thought.

"That's right Robyn, I am, in fact, pregnant," Quinn answered almost nonchalantly even as she continued to write on the whiteboard. "Yay, someone noticed," she cheered inside her head.

"Is she keeping this one?" Robyn whispered much more quietly.

"Yes," Beth mouthed back and glowered at Robyn. "Shut up," she hissed, she didn't want the popular girls or the bully girls to get wind of anything personal between her and Quinn, because no doubt, if they knew something, they'd use it to their advantage.

"Ok," Quinn said as she turned back to face the class. Immediately everyone's eyes went to her middle, she blushed just a little self-consciously, she felt like she was under the microscope. Quinn had to let go of a strangled giggle. She heard the mumblings of voices, hidden behind hands, even as they all just looked at her. "Can we start?" she suggested gently. "Ok, today we're going to look at words that sound alike but mean totally different things, can anyone think of anything?" she asked. "Yes, Robyn," she said as Robyn Sylvester raised her hand.

"Are you going to keep this one or are you going to give it up for adoption like you did Beth?" Robyn asked. Quinn almost fainted. Beth wanted to die. Robyn glanced around as the whole room seemed to empty of air after everyone had sucked in a shocked breath. "What?" she demanded.

* * *

><p>"Hey, come on, it can't be that bad," Puck crooned as he took Quinn into his arms to hug her better. He'd been called to the school, to the teachers' lounge because that was the only place that Beth could think of to get Quinn to after Robyn's revelation in class.<p>

"It is," Beth sighed as she stood up too. "Now the whole school knows," she informed Puck sadly. "Well, they don't know about you, but they know about me and her," she explained with a nod towards Quinn, who was still in shock.

"And is that so bad?" Puck asked Beth. "I mean, you look like a carbon copy of her, how has no one noticed until now?" he added with a grin. "Hey, we've been through worse," he reminded Quinn and tilted her head back so that he could look in her tear-filled eyes. "Remember when Finn found out?" he asked her. "Remember what happened then, how we dealt with it?" Quinn sobbed and nodded, yes she remembered, they'd brazened it out and made it look to the entire world that they were a couple, they held hands, they smooched and made out in the hallways, Puck defended her to anyone who thought they had the right to badmouth her. "So, do it again," Puck advised. "We know it's the truth, so make the truth common knowledge instead of trying to keep it a secret and then they don't have anything to talk about anymore, right?"

"Right," Quinn agreed as she sniffed and tried to get herself back under some semblance of control. "Did you do the journal thing that I asked everyone to do at the weekend?" she asked Beth. Actually, Quinn had asked her students to keep a journal for two whole weeks, but maybe if Beth had documented their weekend activities, they could let the truth out in their own way.

"Of course," Beth replied with one eyebrow raised, she looked even more like Quinn. "I take it I'm going to read my homework out in class tomorrow, right?" Quinn nodded, grateful that Beth understood so quickly. "I'll clear it with my mom this evening," she said and then hugged Quinn too. Beth really didn't want to see her so upset, she didn't want to see her hurt, she really liked Quinn.

* * *

><p>"Mom," Beth called as soon as she walked into the house after school, after Puck and Quinn dropped her off. "Mom?" she called again.<p>

"Yes, sweetie, I'm coming," Shelby called back, she sounded like she was upstairs.

Beth went into the kitchen to get herself a drink of juice and a snack. "Mom, I'm in here," she shouted when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "I need to talk to you," she added in a sing-songy kind of way. "Hey," she smiled when Shelby hugged her. "I kind of have something to tell you," Beth sighed, and wrinkled up her nose. "Robyn kind of outed me and Quinn today at school," she said with a pout, she glanced up to see her mom's face, saw that she looked slightly shocked.

"And how do you feel about that?" Shelby managed to ask, she was swallowing hard, almost gulping back the hint of nausea.

"I'm...I'm kind of ok with it," Beth said softly, she realised that she was. "See, I've been thinking, right?" she said and looked again at her mom. "Like, most kids, they only get one mom, right?" she asked, Shelby nodded in agreement. "I get two, I mean, I know I only get one dad, but at least I have him, right? And now I've got grandmas, aunts, uncles and everything whereas before, it was just me and you, right? So it's got to be good, right?" she said, she sounded a little excited. "I mean, I even get to have a brother, how cool is that?"

Shelby hugged Beth close. This was her Beth back, this was her little girl, not the moody, sullen girl who had inhabited Beth's body for the last few weeks. This girl, the one who always looked for the positive, the one who always looked for the rainbow, and she was so thankful to have her back. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy," Shelby sighed into Beth's hair and pressed kiss after kiss on her head. "I'm glad you're back, Boo," she whispered. Beth said nothing, she smiled to herself and hugged her mom, she was rather glad that she felt more like her old self too.

* * *

><p>The silence was almost deafening. Beth suddenly realised that she was in class, that there was silence all around her, that everyone seemed to be looking at her and that she didn't have a clue even what day it was. She must have been really, really daydreaming. She sort of knew that Quinn had asked her a question and she was sifting through lots of rubbish in her brain to see if she could actually remember hearing what she'd been asked. "Erm, I'm sorry, Qu...erm...Ms Puckerman, could you repeat the question?" she asked faintly and blushed madly, she could feel the heat spreading throughout her body. Beth swallowed hard.<p>

Quinn smiled at Beth in an encouraging way. "I asked if you had worked on your journal," Quinn said again. Quinn knew how it would read: Friday, went to OB appointment with birth parents, saw baby brother. Saturday, spent the day chillaxing with my mom. Sunday, met Rachel Berry. In my kitchen. Actually Rachel Berry, the real one, the one who played Fanny Brice on Broadway for five whole years. Turns out, she's my mom's real daughter, so my weekend was interesting.

"Yes," Beth replied, happy that she could say that she had begun the task that Quinn had set for the class.

"Would you like to read yours out?" Quinn asked, and gave Beth a nod of positive encouragement. Beth gulped and stood slowly to walk to the front of the class. They had discussed this on the phone last night, in a call that involved Beth, Shelby, Quinn and Puck.

"Ok," Beth sighed and walked to the front of the class. She paused a second to glance at Quinn before she turned to face the class with her journal held in a slightly trembling hand. "Before I tell you what I did on the weekend, there's something you should know about me," she bravely told the class. Beth glanced around and saw even the popular clique sit up and take notice. "I was adopted when I was born. My birth parents were high school kids, they were too young to take care of me so I was adopted by my mom," she announced and saw the interested and shocked looks on various faces around the room. "Just recently, I have met my birth parents and I have been spending some time with them, getting to know them, they're quite cool people," she added with a half-smirk and a sidelong glance at Quinn. Quinn bent her head to hide her smile. "So, here we go. On Friday, after school was out, I went with my birth parents to a very special appointment," she told the class. "I saw my baby brother for the first time, and he looks kind of cool," she read out. "I think he looks like..." Beth glanced over at Quinn, she'd written their names in this part, Quinn nodded, they'd discussed it with each other and with Shelby too, it was fine for the truth to come out. "I sort of think he looks like Puck," she read out and glanced again at the class, "Puck is my dad, by the way, he's always been called Puck, his name is Noah Puckerman, but he prefers Puck," she explained. A few in drawn breaths were audible as the connection to their teacher was made. Quinn felt the gazes land on her, she continued to look at Beth. "But Puck thinks he looks like me and Quinn, Quinn is my birth mom," she added and waited half a second for someone to click.

"Wait a minute," one of the popular girls shouted from the back of the class. "Quinn and Puckerman?" she stated rather than asked. "Isn't that a bit too much of a coincidence?" she demanded.

"It's no coincidence," Beth denied. "Ms Puckerman," she indicated Quinn with a hitch of her thumb, "is my birth mother," she revealed.

"Oh my God," the girl hissed. "You're like, really her _mom_?" she asked, thrilled with the news, scandalised that her teacher had given up a baby and excited to have gossip that she could use for currency until it became common knowledge.

"No, Ms Corcoran is Beth's mom," Quinn corrected. "I gave birth to her," she admitted, "but I am not her mom, Shelby is her mom," she repeated and gave Beth that smile, the one that was identical to Beth's.

"She's my biological mom, my birth mom," Beth explained, she felt kind of important, she held the attention of the class.

"I don't get it," another girl exclaimed. "You married the guy, right? The dad?" she asked.

"Yes, Noah and I did eventually get married," Quinn replied, nodding carefully she wondered where this was going. All around the room, Quinn could hear whispered voices, she knew that they were commenting on how alike she and Beth looked and wondering how they hadn't noticed before.

"So if you were going to get married, why didn't you just keep Beth, be a real mom to her?" the girl asked.

"It wasn't as simple as that," Quinn sighed, but oh how she wished it had been. "For a number of reasons, life didn't work out quite so simply, we didn't have a continuous relationship," she admitted, "we did however, finally realise that we were right for each other so here we are," she said and then was so thankful to hear the bell to denote the end of the lesson. "Oh thank God," she thought. "Ok, so can you all work on your journals, please?" she called over the sound of chairs scraping and footsteps heading towards the door. "Thank you," she called as the door closed.

"Are you ok?" Beth asked quietly at her side.

"I am, thank you, how about you?" Quinn asked and rubbed her hand over Beth's shoulder in a comforting motion. "You need to be getting to your next class," she added, although she was extremely pleased that she had a free period herself.

"It's just gym, and I don't feel so good," Beth pouted. "I have a stomach ache," she claimed and rubbed her hand low across her stomach. "Do you think I might be excused?" she asked with a pleading look in her eyes.

"Do you really think I'm going to fall for that one?" Quinn asked Beth with a grin.

"No," Beth sighed with a pout. "But it was worth a try," she added over her shoulder as she went out into the hallway. Quinn laughed a little at her cheek.

* * *

><p>"Oh, crap," Rachel whispered as she and Quinn stood on the porch outside Carole Hummel's home. "My knees are shaking," she admitted out of the side of her mouth.<p>

"Mine too," Quinn whispered back. They were stood side by side, their arms were linked together, taking courage from each other. "Press the bell again," she urged Rachel. Rachel pulled a face and did so.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Carole Hummel called from inside the house. "Rachel," she cried when she opened the door. "Quinn," she added and hugged both girls. "What brings you here?" she asked once they were inside and seated, cups of coffee on the table in front of them.

"Actually, Carole, we have something to tell you," Rachel said after she had cleared her throat a few times. "And please, we aren't telling you this to upset you, hopefully it will be just the opposite," she explained. Rachel took a moment to compose herself, she knew exactly what she was going to say, she'd rehearsed all afternoon, this was just exactly like an opening night. "Finn had a child," she announced then paused for a second for that to sink in. "He was Sue Sylvester's sperm donor, Sue's daughter, Robyn, she is Finn's daughter," she said then glanced up at Carole's shocked face.

"Wait...wait...Finn? No, wait," Carole stuttered, she looked as though she'd been slapped. "What?" she demanded.

"Finn fathered a child," Quinn said softly and took Carole's hand in both of her own to give the floundering woman something to hold on to. "You have a granddaughter," she explained, again in a soft and gently voice.

"Gran...granddaughter?" Carole repeated, she couldn't take this in, she was dreaming, surely, this was almost like Finn being raised from the dead. "A child? Finn?"

"Yes," Rachel confirmed. "I have the DNA report right here," she said quickly and delved into the huge purse to find it. "Here, here," she muttered as she indicated the relevant information for Carole.

"That...that could be anyone, I mean, it's just a code, it doesn't mean anything to me," Carole said as she looked at the report, and rightly so, it was a print out of three DNA codes. "Are you sure?" she asked a moment later. "Sue Sylvester? That God awful coach woman?" she asked. "Oh my, that poor little girl," she sighed. "Does, does she know about me?" she asked.

"No, not yet, Robyn doesn't know yet," Quinn replied. "Sue asked us to come to you, to tell you because she knows that Robyn should have other people in her life and she would like you to be in Robyn's life, if you want to," she explained.

"If I want to," Carole repeated Quinn's words. She took a second to think, to get her head together. "_If _I want to?" she asked. "How can it be _if_?" she sniffed. "I have a granddaughter," she cried as she finally allowed her excitement to come through. Carole sobbed with happiness, and with shock, but overall, it was happiness.

* * *

><p>"So do you want to let Sue know?" Rachel asked as they climbed back into Quinn's car. "Maybe we should go there right now, tell her now and then she can talk it over with Robyn, maybe then we can arrange a meeting before I go back to New York," she sighed. She wasn't particularly looking forward to going back for a while, she felt a bit burnt out. "Maybe I'll stay here for another week," she suggested with a sigh.<p>

"You know you're always welcome at our house," Quinn reminded Rachel. She checked the traffic before pulling out into the street. "Could you have ever imagined this?" she asked, thinking back to the time when they were something of rivals for Finn's attention. "You know I was in love with Puck, even back then, right?" she asked Rachel with a grin.

"Oh I know that," Rachel exclaimed. "Why do you think I dated him?" she added with an even bigger grin, they both burst out laughing. "Come on, let's get this Sue thing over with then we'll do dinner."

* * *

><p>"Sue, hi," Quinn said breathlessly once Sue opened the door. "May we come in?" she asked. Sue stood back for the to enter. "Oh, Robyn, hi," she said in surprise, she hadn't expected her to be there for some reason.<p>

"Is this about my dad?" Robyn asked with a nervousness that Quinn hadn't seen in her before.

Quinn glanced at Sue, she gave a slight nod of assent. "Yes," Quinn replied. She glanced again at Sue, Sue nodded a little more overtly. "Robyn, we know who your dad is, who he was," she said as she sat down on the couch.

Robyn sat down suddenly too, as though her legs had failed her. "Was?" she asked with a gulp.

"Yes, was," Quinn repeated. "Your dad was a wonderful guy, a really, really great guy," she said, building Finn up. "He was a great friend to everyone, he loved music, he loved his friends, he was a really, really great guy," she said, she was running out of things to say.

"So what happened to him?" Robyn asked. A great guy was all well and good, but it still didn't tell her who her dad was.

Quinn looked at Rachel, they weren't sure how much of the truth they should give. "I think it might be better for his family to tell you about that," Rachel suggested and relief flooded through both Quinn and Rachel once that was suggested.

"Family?" Robyn asked with interest. "I have family?" she asked, Rachel nodded. "Do they know about me?" she asked warily.

"They do now," Quinn replied. "And they want to meet you, if it's ok with you and your mom," she added and looked at Sue, Sue nodded, she still hadn't spoken. "Let me know and we'll arrange it, ok?" she suggested softly and stood up. "We have to get home, dinner to make, you know?" she muttered to Sue as she and Rachel made their way to the front door.

"Thank you," Sue called softly, her voice was quite gruff as though she was holding back the tears. Quinn looked back and smiled, she didn't reply, neither did Rachel, they didn't need to, the look said it all.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure she'll like me?" Robyn hissed to Beth, she was so, so nervous.<p>

"Yes, I'm sure," Beth hissed back, they were sat at a table in Breadstix, with Quinn and Rachel, they were waiting for Puck to come, he was bringing his mom and Carole Hummel.

"Robyn," Rachel said gently and took the young girl's trembling hand, "she is going to love you," she assured her. The more she looked at Robyn, the more she could see Finn, and she loved that, she loved that she could see bits of him in this young girl. "Here they are," she murmured and gave Robyn's hand another gentle squeeze. "Carole, hi," she called as she stood to give the older woman a hug. "Ruth," she added and hugged her too. "May I introduce you to Ms Robyn Sylvester," she said and held a hand out towards Robyn.

Robyn gulped and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Hi," she whispered then gulped again.

"Robyn," Carole breathed. "I'm...I'm...oh, you have his eyes, you have Finn's eyes," she cried, she couldn't help herself. "And that little freckle, there, just there," she said as she gently touched a fingertip to Robyn's temple, "Finn had one just like that," she said and turned to Ruth. "This is real?" she asked, she was still having to pinch herself.

"I'm real," Robyn quipped, she didn't get overly emotional, and the woman hadn't run away screaming yet, so she must be ok.

Carole sat down beside Robyn and just drank her in. "How have you lived in Lima your whole life and I didn't know about you?" she asked. "I mean, look at you, I can just see so much of Finn in you," she said with absolute pleasure, she was so happy.

"Hey, nana," Beth whispered as Ruth hugged her, they happily watched the growing interaction between Robyn and Carole, it was interesting to see. "That was us just a couple of weeks ago, right?" she murmured, Ruth nodded, yes it had been and now she felt so involved in Beth's life that she didn't think she'd missed out on anything. Ruth really hoped that Robyn and Carole would come to that.

* * *

><p>"My journal," Robyn read out in class at Quinn's bidding. "Keeping a journal is nothing new to me," she read then glanced up at Beth. "My mom has kept journals for years and years, there's some really interesting stuff in those," she said and glanced beside her to Quinn, Quinn gave Robyn the slightest wink. "But writing about myself is difficult because I don't really know who I am, see, journal, I've never known who my dad is and I feel like half of me is missing..."<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: I really like being here with you...thank you for having me...**

"So can I go?" Beth asked after she had so eloquently stated her case, she glanced at Puck first, she knew he was the easiest to sway, then she glanced at Quinn and finally her mom. All three looked at each other but Puck's eyes had the 'you got me' look in them. "Winner, winner, chicken dinner," Beth almost sang out loud. "I really, really, really want to go," she pouted and gave Puck the slow blinking, puppy dog look.

"She can go, can't she?" Puck asked, giving Quinn and Shelby the exact same look that Beth had just treated him to.

"Can you imagine how much of a pushover he's going to be when she wants to learn to drive? Or when she wants a car?" Shelby asked Quinn in a loud, private conversation, talking as though Beth and Puck weren't even there.

"I know, I wonder if he'll be the same pushover when she wants to go out on dates and you're saying no, I wonder if he'll take up her battle then?" Quinn replied, both of them still talking as though neither Beth nor Puck were in the room.

"Hey, who said what about dates?" Puck demanded, all anxious and worried. "I'm talking about a simple skiing trip," he clarified, he made sure the ladies knew his position. "Skiing, snow, cold weather, lots of layers, not dates with boys, no way and anyway, she's far too young for that, aren't you, baby?" he said, turning his question to Beth. Beth didn't reply, she looked sceptically at the three adults.

"So it's just me doing the painting then?" Rebecca called from the top of the stairs with a paintbrush in her hand. "See, I'm sure that my brother only went downstairs to ask his wife for a few snacks and drinks," she groused. "Come and help, he said, it'll be fun, he said," she pouted as she went back to the nursery to continue changing the diabolical colour on the walls to a beautiful, sunny yellow. "I better be getting paid for this," she added in a louder voice.

"I'll pay you in kind," Puck shouted up the stairs to his sister. "When you finally get a place of your own, I'll come and paint a bedroom for you," he offered then bussed Quinn's cheek before trotting back up to help his sister. "And don't even think of carrying that stuff up here," he ordered from the top when he glanced back to see Quinn bend over to pick up the side of the crib to carry up.

"I can help," Beth offered and took one edge, she was still waiting for the decision about the skiing trip so she was determined to be helpful.

"Me too," Shelby said and picked up the other.

"I can at least carry the blankets and stuff," Quinn grumbled. Yes, she knew that Puck was only looking out for her, but if he wrapped her up in any more cotton wool, she was going to suffocate.

"So when will Puck be back on active duty?" Shelby asked as they worked, unpacking some of the things that had been bought for the baby - that Judy had bought for the baby.

"That's a bit of a sensitive area right now," Quinn murmured and glanced through the open bedroom door, across the hall to the room that was to be the nursery. "His CO called him a couple of days ago," she explained. "He's medically fit to fly again, he's passed all of the tests and stuff, but he's been doing so well with the recruitment drive, especially the career days he's doing in high schools around the area, that they want him to carry on for a while," she said and glanced again to see if Puck was still busy. "He's been seconded to the recruitment team for at least the next twelve months," she whispered as Puck came out into the hallway. Puck was pretty pissed about it, actually, he wanted to be back in the air. "Obviously if something was to happen, some sort of conflict or anything, he would be recalled immediately, but if he accepts this, it means that for at least the first eight months of junior's life, he will be here, every night, be able to be a hands-on dad," she sighed, she really hoped that Puck was going to accept the position, but she knew that his heart wouldn't be in it, his heart would always belong in the air.

"I know that it means support for you," Shelby murmured, also conscious of Puck being close-by. "But I can assure you that, if he decides against it, you won't be lacking in support, you have a lot of family, a lot of people who love you, a lot of people who will help, there's Ruth, Rebecca, your mom, me, Beth, we'll help," she assured Quinn.

"Thank you," Quinn mouthed, she couldn't find her voice, she couldn't help but fill up, she felt the tears well up from somewhere around her toes. "Oh, tears, for a change," she mocked herself. "I am so fed up of crying," she groaned. "At least the puking finally stopped, I'm sure I didn't have morning sickness for so long with Beth, although, my poor sister, she suffered with hyperemesis, she puked morning, noon and night for the first seven months, she couldn't even swallow her own spit," she said with rare sympathy for Frannie. "There's no wonder she only has one child and has vowed and declared that she'll never have another," Quinn giggled a little unkindly. Poor Frannie had been struck with every pregnancy ailment known to man. Or known to obstetrician, to be more accurate. Shelby held back a giggle, although the smile couldn't be contained.

"Back to the skiing thing," Puck said quietly from the doorway. "I think it will be a good thing for her, it'll teach her a lot about trust, self reliance," he claimed.

"Fine," Shelby sighed and held her hands up in surrender. Carefully, Shelby winked at Quinn without Puck being aware of it. "But you know that it's a mixed group, right?" she asked, Puck nodded. "And it's mixed dorms," she added and waited for the fireworks. She didn't have long to wait.

"No way," Puck yelled. "She's not going, skiing is just too damn dangerous, she's not going, no way," he repeated sternly. Beth came out of the nursery, absolutely devastated to hear those words. "You're not sharing a room with boys," he all but yelled at her.

"I know I'm not," Beth replied, her confusion showed on her face, Beth was wondering where Puck had picked up his info from, and then she glanced at her mom and Quinn, both of whom were in fits of laughter and almost collapsed across Quinn and Puck's huge, wide bed. "I'm sharing a room with Robyn, Emily and Claire," she explained calmly then watched Puck slowly calm down too.

"Ever feel like someone's laughing at you?" Puck asked Beth, she nodded and sighed as they watched the two women laugh until they cried. "Yep, me too," Puck sighed quietly.

* * *

><p>"Sir," Puck snapped to attention as his superior officer entered the recruiting office in downtown Lima.<p>

"At ease," Captain Jonas Bridges said, once he had acknowledged Puck's salute. "Puck, I really think you should grab this opportunity with both hands," he advised, after Puck had poured them both a cup of coffee and had made sure that the door was temporarily locked, giving them some privacy. "When my sons were born, I was halfway through a tour of Afghanistan," he said and thought for a moment of his ex wife and his twin sons. "Maggie never really forgave me for, what she saw as, abandoning her when she needed me the most," he explained. "I mean, I saw them being born via satellite link, but its not the same," he said. "You're being given the chance to stay in your home town, be here when your kid is born, actually be with your wife and give her the support that she needs," he added with a touch of envy. "Take it, take the opportunity, cherish the time with Quinn and your baby, and then, when you get dragged back to other duties, accept it with grace," he advised.

"Thank you, sir," Puck said as he thought about what he was being offered. Yes, he was being stupid to think it was a backwards step, it really wasn't, and yes, Quinn was grateful that he would be with her when their son made his entrance into the world. "It's a boy," he suddenly thought to say. "The ultrasound, it showed it's a boy," he explained. "And we've reconnected with Beth, too," he added with a touch of pride.

"How old is she now?" Captain Bridges asked. Captain Bridges remembered the day when he and Puck had poured their hearts out to each other, told each other all of their hopes and fears, their dreams, their dreads - with the help of a bottle of Jack, an accidental lock-in in a confined, dark space and a seven hour wait for someone to get the ancient bunker open. Bridges had been the one to encourage Puck to return to Lima for the final glee week, encouraged him to pay tribute to his friends, to his love. He actually felt quite instrumental in bringing Puck and his wife together, not that he ever reminded Puck about that. Much.

"Twelve, she'll be thirteen in the summer," Puck mused. "Where the hell has the time gone?" he asked, almost as though he didn't believe that the years had passed. "And she wants to be involved with the baby, which is very cool," he added and grinned.

"So have you made your decision?" Bridges asked and drained his coffee cup.

"There wasn't really any decision to make," Puck sighed. "Realistically, I have to take this opportunity, I know that. I mean, I haven't been deployed overseas for over two years, what would be the chances that I'd manage to last another year?" he asked and shrugged. "If I run this office for a year, then return to active service, it will give Quinn the security that she needs, that she deserves," he said. "I wasn't always there for her before, I let her down so many times in the past, I have to be here, I have to support her," he added with a relieved sigh.

"You know it makes sense," Bridges replied with a grin and lifted his empty cup for Puck to refill. "Now get that door open and get me some more recruits, Sergeant Puckerman," he grinned.

Quinn was happy to see Captain Bridges too, when Puck brought him home to share dinner with them. She knew he had encouraged Puck to go to the reunion before Sue Sylvester had ended glee club altogether, she knew he'd encourage Puck to accept the secondment. Quinn liked Captain Bridges.

* * *

><p>Beth and Quinn went to the appointment alone, Puck was giving a talk at a high school in Ashland, about a two hour drive away. "So, are we ready to see baby again today?" Dr Wen asked.<p>

"Yes we are," Quinn answered and tried her damnedest to keep the sarcasm from screaming out at the doctor.

"Here he is," Dr Wen said with a grin as he turned the monitor around to face Quinn and Beth.

"I still think he looks like a George," Beth told Quinn as her eyes gobbled up the sight of her baby brother. "Oh look at him sucking his thumb," she crooned. "He is so sweet," she said and pressed her cheek to Quinn's head. "Did I ever do that when you saw pictures of me?" she asked.

"Yes, we have a DVD of you sucking your thumb, did you ever see it?" Quinn asked, though her voice was a little husky, not quite as clear as it usually was.

"No, I never saw that," Beth exclaimed.

After the appointment, Quinn drove Beth home with her. "Hi, Shelby, it's only me," Quinn said as soon as he call was answered. "Listen, I know that you have tickets to see that production of Phantom," she began.

"Yes and I even managed to get someone to go with me," Shelby cut in. "You're all Philistines, by the way," she told Quinn. Quinn giggled but she couldn't deny it, all of them had made up excuses not to go see the off-off-Broadway production. It was so far off Broadway that it was almost back in Lima, but Rachel was willing to go watch the show with Shelby, in fact, she was looking forward to it.

"So, I was going to suggest that Beth stay here for the weekend, then, if you want, you can spend the night with Rachel and pick Beth up on Sunday on your way home," Quinn suggested, with more than a flutter of hope in her heart.

"Oh," Shelby gulped. "I...erm...I hadn't thought of...no, it's a good idea, yes, of course it's a good idea, yes. Yes," she stuttered but finally managed to answer. "Shall I call with a bag for her?" she offered.

"That would be wonderful, thank you, Shelby," Quinn said quietly, she could barely contain the grin or the burst of joy that shot through her.

"Did she say yes?" Beth mouthed at Quinn, Quinn nodded. "Yes," Beth hissed as she fist pumped the air.

* * *

><p>Shelby arrived at Puck and Quinn's house at the same time as the guy delivering the Chinese food. "Oh, now I see," she exclaimed, faking that she was really hurt. "Have a good time, sweetie," she said with a grin as she hugged Beth close. "I'll see you on Sunday, ok?" she murmured and then kissed Beth's head repeatedly. "I'm heading straight to the airport, I managed to get a flight tonight instead of tomorrow morning," she told Quinn. Shelby still felt a little nervous, it was a very, very strange feeling, leaving her daughter with the woman that had bore her.<p>

"Bye, mom, say hi to Rachel for me," Beth replied then hugged her mom back. She was really looking forward to spending the evening with Quinn, and Puck when he finally got home, but Beth and Quinn were going to eat Chinese food and watch the DVDs of Beth and of George. Not that Quinn would agree to calling the baby 'George', she wouldn't, but it didn't stop Beth from calling him that.

* * *

><p>"I don't know how, but I think I look pretty happy there," Beth said as she munched a mini spring roll dipped in hoi sin sauce. "See, don't you think I'm smiling there?" she pounced on the slight change of facial expression. "Did you watch these a lot?" she asked.<p>

"Yeah," Quinn sighed. "We would curl up in bed together, Puck would lay behind me, he would spread one hand over my stomach, we would put the laptop on the night stand and fall asleep just watching you, feeling you," she said quietly, remembering all those nights as if they just happened. "He used to lay with his cheek on my cheek and I always felt so warm, so protected," Quinn explained, she had almost forgotten that she was talking to Beth, it was almost like she was reminding herself out loud.

Puck found them an hour or so later, snoozing as the TV played to itself, their blonde heads touching, both of them lounged on the sofa, their feet up on the coffee table with a huge, snuggly blanket covering them. "Hey," Puck said softly so as not to scare either of them. "What are you doing here, monkey face?" he asked Beth as she stretched and smiled at Puck.

"Staying the weekend," Beth replied, her voice distorted by the long, long stretch. "My mom said I could," she added.

"Well, sure, I mean, I didn't think that Quinn had kidnapped you," Puck laughed. "What's for dinner?" he asked as he walked through to the kitchen. "Besides left over Chinese," he added and pulled a face. Puck liked Chinese food, but not left overs.

"I'll make you something," Quinn replied and yawned delicately behind her hand, she stretched as she walked, her rounded tummy popped out even more.

"Hey," Puck murmured softly and planted a kiss on Quinn's perfect lips. "How did the appointment go?" he asked.

"It was great," Beth said quickly, her face showing her excitement, "George was sucking his thumb, he looked so cute," she said, her voice getting higher.

"We're not calling him George," Puck told Beth once again. "I don't care how many times you say it, it's still not his name," he repeated the often said phrase. "And you can pout all you like," he added as he turned away to look in the fridge. "Did you finish getting all of your gear for skiing?" he asked.

"Almost," Beth replied and pulled a face. "But George is such a cute name, and it suits him, he looks like a George," she told Puck with absolute sincerity. "Can't we at least have his middle name as George?" she asked.

"Finn George Puckerman," Puck said and pulled a face too. "Not happening, absolutely not, maybe the next one, if we have another one, maybe that one can be a George or a Georgia, but no, this little guy is Finn, we couldn't call him anything else," he said and looked at Quinn with such contentment, Puck didn't think he'd ever been as happy. Ever.

"Finnian Jonas Puckerman," Quinn announced and Puck looked at her in surprise. Ever since Captain Bridges had come to dinner, Quinn realised how instrumental he had been in the reformation of 'Quick' and she had sort of decided that his name should be honoured too. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the name. "Finn's full name was Finnian, his mom told me it means 'fair', so I'd like the baby to be called Finnian Jonas Puckerman," she said a little breathlessly, nervously. Quinn bit her lip as she waited.

"Finnian Jonas," Puck repeated. "Finnian Jonas," he said again. "Cool, I like it," he said with a nod. "Finnian Jonas Puckerman," he said to Beth. Beth nodded too, the name sounded really good, it suited him.

* * *

><p>"How about this one?" Puck asked, lifting the McKinley Titans inspired down jacket from the rack. "I used to play football in these colours, Quinn used to cheer in these colours, these colours are your destiny," he told Beth, trying his utmost to keep a straight face.<p>

"My mom said just the pants," Beth reminded Puck and pointed at the growing pile of garments that lay on the counter at the checkout, waiting for the cashier to ring up the sale.

"What does your mom know?" Puck scoffed. "When was the last time she went skiing?" he asked.

"Never," Beth admitted under her breath, she couldn't help but feel a little excited, like a kid at Christmas, except she had Hanukkah instead of Christmas. "Plus, it is kind of cool," she agreed and loved the fact that Puck and Quinn were outfitting her for the trip. She loved shopping with Quinn, she knew all the best places to go for the cute girlie stuff that made her look just that little bit older, little bit more sophisticated.

Quinn snapped another picture of Beth trying stuff on and sent it to Shelby for approval. "Your mom says yes to this outfit," she said when her phone chimed with a message, "but not the last one, sorry honey," she added with an exaggerated pout. "And she said that the blue pants with the pink and blue check shirt look cute too," she told Beth. "Puck, Shelby says that Beth can hire boots and skis, she doesn't need her own, she probably won't ever go again," she told her husband, who pouted and frowned for real.

"Yes she does," Puck muttered to himself. He wanted to buy them for her. So what if she never used them again, this was making up for twelve missed birthdays, twelve missed Christmases and twelve missed Hanukkahs. A pair of skis and a pair of ski boots were little enough to compensate. "Too late, tell her I already bought them," he called over his shoulder as the cashier charged his card.

"She says you can get a refund," Quinn replied as she read out Shelby's message.

"Give me that," Puck sighed and took Quinn's phone from her. "Please let me have this little bit of fun," he muttered as he typed. "Send," he said and pressed the button before handing the phone back.

"Shelby says fine, but don't complain when she buys tons for the baby," Quinn sighed. "Are we done now?" she asked as Beth returned from the dressing rooms in her own clothes. "This pile is my treat," she said to the young girl then smiled at the cashier.

"How come Shelby didn't tell you that you couldn't buy her all that stuff?" Puck grumbled, he felt rather picked on.

"Why do you think I distracted her by telling her about your planned purchases?" Quinn laughed. "What do you think I am? Stupid?"

"Women," Puck sighed. "I'll never win, will I?" he asked the store in general.

"In my considered opinion, sir," the manager murmured from his position near the end of the counter, "it's better to just allow them the victory. Wife and four daughters," he added, stating his qualification. "Even the dog and the cat are female," he sighed and shook his head sadly. Puck looked at the man with sympathy. "And they're all teenagers, all four of them. Sir," he said with a glance at Beth, then back to Puck, "you have no idea."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied, the author does not make any profit from this work of fiction.**

**A/N: And it's almost time for Finn...**

"Breathe," Puck coached, he pulled faces at Quinn the second their Lamaze coach had her eye on someone else in the group. Quinn slapped at Puck's arm to warn him to take this seriously, he was being just as stupid as he had been when they'd done this before as teenagers. "I'm sorry," he muttered into Quinn's ear, he was supporting her as she lounged against him, she was practicing her breathing techniques and he was supposed to be helping her. Quinn glanced over her shoulder and instantly forgave him. For a few seconds anyway, and then Puck opened his mouth again. "Still feeling horny?" he asked her hopefully. Quinn growled. "Guess not," he answered his own question with a pout. That was his plans for the night blown right out of the water.

* * *

><p>"Ms Puckerman?" Robyn said quietly from the doorway. "Ms Puckerman, my mom asked me to ask you if you could do something for her," she said when Quinn motioned for her to come into her class.<p>

"What's that, Robyn?" Quinn asked, rather surprised that Sue would ask her to do anything.

"She wants to meet with my grandma," Robyn announced, she was quite thrilled at being able to use the word 'grandma' in relation to herself. "She wondered if you would help to set it up?" she queried.

"Of course," Quinn replied, she had no problem in doing this for Sue.

"She also wondered if you would be there too," Robyn added, "she said that Saturday at Breadstix would be fine," she told Quinn then bit her lip. "You will come, won't you, Ms Puckerman?" she asked nervously.

"Yes, I'll come," Quinn answered softly.

* * *

><p>"So, baby is gaining weight nicely," Dr Wen announced as he spun the monitor around for Puck and Quinn to see their son. "I have a little concern," he said quietly, Puck and Quinn both looked at him with slightly fearful eyes. "You can see the umbilical cord there?" he pointed at the screen. "I am worried that it might tangle around baby's ankle, it looks like it could," he said with a slight frown. "I would like to schedule weekly ultrasound scans, I want to keep a check on that, ok?"<p>

"Fine, that's fine," Puck replied, his eyes were still locked on his son, his hands were gripped with both of Quinn's. "Is there any danger?" he asked the question they both needed the answer to.

"At the moment? No," Dr Wen informed them. "It's possible that if the cord does wrap around a limb, it can cut off the blood supply to the limb, it can tangle so tightly that it cuts off the oxygen supply from the placenta, yes, it could be dangerous. But then again, it could just be an annoyance rather than a danger, one can never tell, but I want to keep checking on it, ok?"

"Thank you, Dr Wen," Puck murmured, he knew that, as much as the guy could be annoying, he would do all he could for them, he wanted Finn to be born healthy as much as they did.

"Thank you, doctor," Quinn said quietly as Puck helped her to sit up. "So, next Friday?" she asked as she discreetly wiped away a tear.

"Yes please, next Friday," Dr Wen confirmed.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Carole," Quinn sighed as she took a seat next to the woman who was waiting at the table. "Glad you could make it," she said and then struggled to unfasten her coat. "I think I should have done this before I sat down," she muttered and pulled a face at herself. Quinn stood again to take off her coat.<p>

"Oh my," Carole Hummel grinned. "Where did that come from?" she asked with a nod at Quinn's large, protruding stomach. "Did Santa bring that for you?" she teased.

"I know, it's like he's all of a sudden saying I'm here," Quinn agreed, giving it some jazz hands, she felt ever so slightly embarrassed. "You should have heard the kids when we started back at school last week, some of them only just realised I'm pregnant," she scoffed and shook her head. Some of her students literally lived in cloud cuckoo land.

"Remember when you lived at our house? When you were expecting Beth?" Carole asked, she thought back to those days with a little fondness, a little regret. "I was so hurt when the baby turned out to be Puck's and not Finn's," she said quietly, she didn't want to hurt Quinn's feelings, "and I never quite understood how Finn could have possibly thought he was the father," she added, puzzled, she thought her son had had a better working knowledge of the human body. "Oh, here's Robyn," she said suddenly when movement caught her eye. "Hi, honey," Carole cried and stood to hug her granddaughter. "Sue, hello," she said with a little bit more reserve.

"Hello," Sue managed to say, although she was incredibly reserved too. Quinn couldn't reconcile the almost silent woman beside her with the acerbic coach she had known when she was a teenager. "Q," Sue added, still very unlike her old self, she seemed almost...nervous.

"Robyn, sweetie, would you mind giving your mom and me a minute?" Carole asked. "Quinn, could you just...thank you," she murmured as Quinn and Robyn left the table to allow the two women to talk. Carole watched them walk away. "So, what did you have on him?" she asked Sue. "How did you convince him to do something so vile with you," she demanded. "I found it, the letter, you know, it was hidden, but I found it," she said and watched the blood drain from Sue Sylvester's face, watched her swallow hard, watched her glance around for either Quinn or Robyn to save her. "And he was still a student at the time, you were a faculty member, do you know how much trouble you could have been in?" she asked. Sue gulped and nodded. "So how did you do it?" Carole asked. "You must have bribed him in some way, he was so in love with Rachel, I don't know how you got him to betray her like that," she said with more thana touch of disgust.

"I...err...I, wow, I, err, I just asked," Sue eventually managed to say.

"No, you didn't," Carole insisted. "And don't give me the sperm donor crap," she hissed, "because I _know_ that isn't true," she insisted. "So tell me, how did you manage to get my son to sleep with you?" she asked then sat back and waited.

Sue gulped and thought about her answer. "I knew about his habit," Sue said, she decided to tell the truth. "I told him that I would out him, get him kicked off the football team, out of New Directions, out of school," she said then looked Carole in the eye. "I had already introduced him to the father that you had denied him all those years, and he was desperate for that, he took to his father's lifestyle like a duck to water and then I used the information to get what I wanted. Honestly, he wasn't my first choice, I would have preferred the other one, he'd already proven he could do it, I was working blind with Finn, I was just hoping he had the goods," she said, and once she'd started talking, Sue found that the words just flowed. "Puckerman turned me down, even doing it the clinical way, Finn was the next port of call, Rachel still wasn't giving it to him at that time and basically he was a pressure cooker waiting to blow, sure he would have preferred it to be with a younger woman," she agreed, as though Carole had asked, "but he got well paid for what he did," she insisted.

"Puck told me that he, that Finn, was talking in his sleep shortly before the end," Carole said in a harder voice, she couldn't believe that she had protected her son all those years and then this woman, at the drop of a hat, for her own nefarious purposes, undid all that by introducing Finn to Christopher. How could she? Why would she? "He talked about you, about Robyn, Puck assumed it was by donation, was that what you asked him to do?" she asked, Sue nodded. Yes, she had asked Puck if he would make a donation, he had laughed at her and turned her down, even after she'd threatened to out him and Quinn, tell everyone that they'd been together for years, Puck had told her to go ahead. Sue hadn't, of course, she'd turned to the next person she had dirt on, she had been quite prepared to ask the next and the next and the next. Sue had dirt on a lot of people. "Do you have any idea, how I feel?" Carole asked. "In one heartbeat I am thrilled that Finn left a legacy of himself, left a part of himself and in the next I am so disgusted with him, but more so with you, and I don't know if I can get over that," she admitted, Carole was surprised at how well she had controlled the urge to punch, slap and hit Sue Sylvester, at how well she had controlled the urge to scream, to cry. But at the back of her mind, the thing that was ever present, was the knowledge that the little girl over there, that innocent child, she was the most important person, in the whole world as far as Carole was concerned. "I want visitation, access, whatever, I want time with my granddaughter, I want to make up for lost time and can I just say, it must be incredibly weird for her, to have a mother older than her grandmother, it's just wrong in every way," she hissed just before Quinn and Robyn rejoined them. "I think weekends, to start with," she said with a smile, as though they had been discussing visitation.

"You really want to spend time with me?" Robyn asked, thrilled that she was going to get to know the woman in front of her. Carole nodded a little tearfully. "And you're ok with that?" she asked her mom, Sue nodded too. "Cool," she sighed. "That's like Beth sleeping over at your house, isn't it?" she demanded happily, Quinn nodded and smiled tightly.

"Exactly, sweetie," Quinn murmured as soon as she knew she was able to. She could see the tension between Sue and Carole, she realised that whatever issues were between them, they hadn't been resolved, they might never be resolved.

* * *

><p>"Oh Ruth, how could he go with that woman?" Carole wailed, she sat at the kitchen table, Ruth poured them both another large glass of wine.<p>

"You're asking me?" Ruth asked with a laugh. "Did you see some of the hags that Noah used to...used to...well, he obviously didn't check out the mantelshelf while he was poking the fire, shall we say?" Ruth muttered.

"Bumping some real uglies," Carole spluttered, Ruth laughed along with her, the conversation descended from there, both ladies getting cruder and cruder the more wine they drank. "Oh God," Carole cried a long while later. "Why?" she asked, her mascara was spread down her cheeks. "Why would he even do that? I mean, was it just to get his...oh, God," she sighed. "I mean, I know that Rachel wouldn't, they didn't until about a month before they were going to get married and even then, oh, I think it wasn't a good experience for either of them, certainly not for Rachel anyway, I found her crying in the bathroom," she said then wished she hadn't because it made Finn sound like an insensitive oaf and he had been anything but that. No, he hadn't been insensitive, he had just been inexperienced. And if his only prior experience had been with Sue Sylvester...poor boy.

* * *

><p>"Hey," Puck murmured against Quinn's shoulder when he finally slid into bed, he had been at a presentation at a school just outside of Marion, about an hour or so away. "How was it?" he asked and pressed even more kisses to her shoulder. He inhaled the scent of her, absorbed the feel of her, of her skin.<p>

"Awkward," Quinn mumbled. She turned over and sighed. "It was awkward, I could hear some of it, did you know that they did it the old fashioned way?" she asked Puck, she still couldn't believe what she'd heard. "It wasn't insemination, they just did it, deliberately for Sue to get pregnant, did you know?" she demanded.

"No," Puck hissed. And he truly had no idea, he hadn't had a clue. He pulled a face as he thought about it. "I mean, I know I used to do older women but eww, gross," he said with a wince. "No, I wouldn't have done her, ever," he declared with a shudder. "And thanks, that thought has turned me right off," he grumbled, "your loss, babe, I was so ready to fulfill your every sexual desire," he told Quinn.

"Sure you were, stud," Quinn mocked. "Go to sleep, I'm tired," she said over her shoulder with a grin. "Finnian has been dancing on my bladder all day," she grumbled, "he's been waiting for his daddy to come and stroke him to sleep," she suggested. Puck cottoned on straight away, Quinn just wanted his hand on her stomach, wanted him to soothe away her fears over what might be happening inside her. "Don't forget we have the appointment with Dr Wen tomorrow," she reminded Puck.

"I know," Puck sighed. "It makes me nervous to think that he's opening the office on a Sunday to check you out," he added.

"Well, he wasn't too happy with the view he had on Friday so," Quinn explained and shrugged, she tried to be nonchalant but it didn't come off, she was worried and it was obvious that she was. Puck was worried too.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Quinn, come through," Dr Wen said quietly and led the way. "How have you been the last couple of days?" he asked. "Still marking down up to ten movements an hour?" he asked, Quinn nodded. "Good, good. Ok, let me see," he murmured to himself. "Well, on Friday, that loop of umbilicus was actually around the left foot," he said and pointed to the screen. "It looks like it's moved again, for now at least," he said with a lot of relief in his voice.<p>

"We've checked it out online and we know that this can be fatal for the baby," Puck said, they'd put it off as long as they could but now it was getting even more serious. "Is it better for him to be delivered early?" he asked.

"It's something I have considered," Dr Wen replied, "but for the time being, I would like him to stay where he is, where nature intended him to be, but I will still keep checking every couple of days, now that he's kicking stronger and there's less room for him and the cord, I really would like to see you every other day, if we can arrange it," he said, making a decision. "And yes, it might possibly be overkill, we can argue about that later, after he's born and healthy."

"I'm not going to argue about it," Puck promised. "And overkill is better than the alternative," he assured the doctor.

"Good, so I'll see you on Tuesday," Dr Wen said with a smile as Quinn sat up and wiped the gel from her large belly. "I know, room temperature," he muttered and saw the grin on Quinn's face. "You're the only person I warm the gel up for, you know," he told her quite honestly. "I didn't even warm it up for my wife," he said, almost proudly.

"Dude, you're a braver man than me," Puck laughed and helped Quinn down from the couch. "See you Tuesday," he repeated the doctor's words as they left the office.

* * *

><p>"Do you think they might make you have Finn early?" Beth asked, she was concerned, she'd checked on line for information about the problems that the baby seemed to be having and although she hadn't actually said anything, she knew that if the cord did tighten around the baby's feet, it could kill him. Beth was really rather worried.<p>

"It's a possibility," Puck sighed and squirted cream on top of Beth's hot chocolate. "_And_ chocolate sprinkles?" he asked, just to make sure. He had never quite understood this need for chocolate overload.

"Puck, there are just some times in a girl's life, when even a truck full is not enough chocolate," Beth sighed and pouted. She knew that Quinn knew, but she didn't particularly want to tell her father that she had begun a new stage in her life, she was no longer a little girl, she was a young woman. Blah, so far - and it had only been a couple of days - but so far Beth was not impressed, and if this was what happened every time you got your period, Mother Nature could keep it.

"You ok, baby?" Quinn asked as she waddled into the kitchen. "Wow, Finn," she cried as the baby somersaulted inside her, it was such a violent movement that it made her rock on her feet, almost toppled her over.

"Are you alright?" Puck demanded, he was at her side in an instant.

"Yes, I'm fine," Quinn laughed, half-laughed. She was sure that she was ok, she was. "I'm fine," she insisted when Puck gave her that look. "Really," she added and rolled her eyes. "How's Robyn," she asked to deflect Puck's attention.

"Fine, she sent me a text to say she's fine," Beth replied, but she was still a little worried about her friend, she'd had a lot to deal with the last few weeks.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're ok?" Puck asked the second he closed the bedroom door, he didn't want to wake Beth up.<p>

"I'm positive," Quinn said and rolled her eyes. She planted a hand in the centre of his chest. "But now you mention it, there is something that might make me feel a little..." she paused because she didn't want to say 'better'.

"Does it involve the removal of a lot of clothes?" Puck asked hopefully.

"It might do," Quinn grinned and pressed a kiss to Puck's chest. Quinn hid a grin from her husband, she had missed being this close to him lately.

"Cool," Puck groaned and wrapped his arms around Quinn's shoulders. The instant his lips touched hers, Puck's body went into meltdown. He didn't hear anything, he couldn't see anything, he just felt absolutely everything.

"Puck, stop. Stop, stop, stop," Quinn hissed again and again, "I thought I heard Beth," she said and listened hard.

"You did," Puck cried as he too heard Beth outside their room.

"Hey," Beth said, she was so embarrassed, she knew exactly what Puck and Quinn had been doing. "Erm, Robyn's outside, she had an argument with her mom, can she come in?" she asked in a rush.

Quinn sighed and glanced at Puck, a look of apology in her eyes. "Of course," she agreed. "I'll call Sue," reminded herself. "Go let her in," she urged Puck.

"What? Like this?" Puck demanded and indicated his current physical predicament.

"Fine, I'll go, just...just...think pure thoughts," Quinn sighed and pulled her robe on.

Every lumbering step down the stairs was an effort. Quinn reached the front door and opened it to the weeping girl. When Robyn Sylvester looked up at Quinn, her pitiful little face just melted Quinn's heart in an instant. "Oh, sweetie," Quinn sighed as Robyn stepped into the house and into Quinn's arms. "Shhh," she soothed, automatically trying to comfort the crying child. "Tell me what's wrong," she encouraged, "tell me all about it."

Robyn allowed Quinn to guide her into the lounge and sit on the sofa, she sat beside Quinn and continued to cry. Puck came to the doorway. "Can I get you anything?" he asked, he'd managed to get himself under control and was now dressed in a pair of sweats. Minimal clothing, for sure, but at least he had something on. "Beth wants to come down too, I asked her to wait just now, until we know what we're dealing with," he murmured for Quinn's benefit.

Quinn nodded and continued to soothe Robyn. "Can you talk to me about it?" she asked Robyn quietly. Robyn sniffed and nodded, her head rubbed against Quinn's chest.

"I found some information online, about artificial insemination," Robyn replied, sniffing her way through her words. "I asked my mom if that was what happened, how she and my dad did it, how they made me a-a-a-a-a-and she said no," she wailed as she started to cry all over again. Quinn soothed as best she could but she couldn't figure out why this would have caused so much upset. When Robyn could speak again, she supplied the answer. "My mom told me that she paid him to sleep with her, she paid him because he needed money for drugs and that was how she did it, that was how she got me and it's just ho-ho-horrible," she wailed.

"Oh, you poor baby," Quinn crooned and pulled Robyn even tighter to her, hugged her even closer. "But just remember, however you came about, your mother wanted you _so_ much, she even resorted to desperate measures to get you," she reminded the young girl. "And however Finn contributed, whatever way that was done, he would have been so proud of you, he would have loved you so much, and you have family that love you, you have Carole, you have Burt, and Kurt, Blaine and Rachel too. Rachel will always love you because you're part of Finn, and you have us, we know lots about Finn, Puck was Finn's best friend, we can tell you loads about him," she rambled on, just giving words, words that would hopefully soothe and comfort the girl.

"I called Sue," Puck said quietly from the doorway. He'd actually called Carole first to get the number to call Sue. "She knows that Robyn is here and that she's safe," he told them both with a glance at Robyn.

"Thanks," Quinn murmured and continued to soothe. Minutes later there was a knock at the door. "Can you get that?" she asked, Puck turned to answer it.

"Carole, hi," Puck said as he opened the door to the distraught woman. "She's with Quinn."

"Thank you," Carole sighed as she passed him and followed the direction that he'd pointed.

"Hi," Quinn said without standing up. She continued to comfort and soothe Robyn, who was by now, sobbing occasionally, sniffing a lot and just generally miserable.

"Oh, baby, come to your grandma," Carole urged and held her arms out. Robyn, without a word, in one fluid motion, turned, stood and launched herself into Carole's waiting arms, her tears returned full force. "There, there," Carole murmured as she hugged her granddaughter close, she felt a closeness, felt a bond develop, she felt, for the first time since Finn died, that she had a purpose. Carole knew that her purpose in life was to make this child's life better, enhance it, nurture it, nurture her. And she couldn't wait to get started. "I called your mom and you're coming home with me for a few days," Carole whispered to Robyn. She had worded that quite carefully, at no time did she say that Sue Sylvester was happy about it because in fact, the woman was furious but Carole didn't give a damn. That woman had denied her nine years of having a grandchild, ten if you thought about the time that she'd been pregnant but still, Carole could forgive that - just about - if it meant that she could be in Robyn's life from now on. Sue had yet to make a clear decision on that. It seemed that the initial desire to contact Carole had waned in the face of Carole's animosity towards Sue. Sue hadn't really expected that, she'd thought that Carole and her family would just welcome Robyn with open arms and forgive and forget everything else. She thought that she'd probably underestimated Carole Hummel just a tad.

Quinn, Puck and Beth watched as Carole assisted Robyn out to her car, bundled her in and waved before driving away. "Bed?" Puck sighed as he closed and locked the door, both Beth and Quinn nodded tiredly. "Cool," he muttered, almost sarcastically, as he made sure everything was locked up and secure, that lights were off, everything was ready for them to go to bed. "Hello, mama," he murmured rather cheesily when he finally entered the bedroom and found Quinn waiting for him, naked, artistically draped across the bed. "Not too tired then?" he asked, just to make sure, even as he crawled over her. "Mmmm, baby," he sighed as he sank into her, there were no more intelligible words, just moans, murmurs, groans. There were sighs and kisses, lots of kisses and a lot of love. Puck couldn't remember the last time that Quinn had been so energetic, had so much energy. God it was awesome.

* * *

><p>"Ok, so we're now at thirty five weeks and six days," Dr Wen murmured, almost to himself. "This tangling is becoming worse, now I know that it will mean that the baby might be a little small, but he is viable, he has a strong heart, all of his vitals are good, but I think it's time, I know that yesterday the loop was around his foot, but look at this, today it's wrapped around his leg, twice, I just don't feel comfortable at sending you away when I know that this is getting to worst case scenario," he explained and then looked at Puck and Quinn's shocked faces.<p>

"We knew it could come to this," Puck managed to say after he'd gulped back the rush of bile to his throat. "Ho-how will...will you do the c-section?" he asked, his hand was gripped tight to Quinn's, he was so glad that Beth hadn't come to this appointment with them, glad that she'd chosen to spend the afternoon with Robyn and Carole, helping them to begin to act normally around each other.

"I want to schedule the c-section for tomorrow morning, but I want you in the hospital tonight, ready to go, I want you hooked up to a real time imager until the actual delivery," Dr Wen said firmly, his entire tone, his manner, everything, had suddenly become self-assured, purposeful.

"Fine, fine," Quinn managed to say, but even to her own ears, the words sounded like they were coming from a distance. "I better call Principal Carson," she said, as she suddenly realised that she would not be able to teach her class for the next while. "Can you call your mom, my mom, erm, I don't, erm, can you?" she asked Puck, she was possibly going into shock, she couldn't string three coherent words together, not even in her head.

"I'll take care of it," Puck assured her as he bent to kiss her forehead. "Should I just go pick up her stuff and bring it in?" he asked the doctor. Puck wondered how the transfer would be made, the doctor's office was right next door to Lima Memorial, so it didn't make much sense to him to take Quinn home and then bring her back.

"I tell you what we'll do," Dr Wen announced. "I'll get Quinn set up in a room across the way, you come back with her birth bag, alright?" he suggested, Dr Wen could see the beginnings of a total freak out, from either one of them, maybe both of them and they had been so calm and accepting up until this point. Still, he was sure that they would come through, and the baby would only be four weeks early, that was nothing, he'd delivered babies that were much less mature, much smaller and they had survived.

* * *

><p>"Yeah, so, I don't know what room she's in till I get back there, but they're doing the c-section tomorrow, no, I don't have the time yet, I'll call you when I have more information, ok? Thanks mom, I love you too, bye," Puck said as he ended the call. He sighed and scrolled down the numbers in his contacts. "Judy, hi, it's Noah," he said as his call was answered. Puck busied himself with ensuring that everything on Quinn's list was actually in the bag before he zipped it up. "Yes, I'm on my way back to her now, I'm sure she'll be allowed visitors, yes, I'll tell her, yes, maybe she'll call you. Judy, I have to go, I want to get back to Quinn, alright, bye, yes, I'll tell her, bye."<p>

Puck's next call was a little harder. "Beth, honey, now listen carefully, now, I don't want you to worry, but Dr Wen has decided that Finn has to come out now, ok?" he said, checking that she was following the conversation.

"Is Quinn alright?" Beth asked tremulously. Puck could hear the nerves and emotion in her voice.

"Quinn is fine, Dr Wen has her in the hospital, she's got a monitor attached so we can see Finn constantly, but the umbilical cord is looped around his leg twice and Dr Wen thinks it will just probably tighten rather than him being able to pull loose from it like he has before, alright?" he said checking again that she was ok. "I'm going to ask your mom to see if she will bring you by for a visit, but I'm going to stay with Quinn tonight and till she comes home," he said and then realised he would have to speak to Captain Bridges to organise the start of his paternity leave. "Beth, I got to go, I have to call my CO, get the paperwork started for my leave otherwise, when I don't show up tomorrow I'll be classed as AWOL and that won't be good," he sighed. God he hadn't realised there would be so much to do. When Beth was born, they'd been driven to the hospital, he had pushed Quinn in a wheelchair while she had shouted and complained that it hurt so much - not so much that she wasn't willing to do it all again, unlike his thoughts on a kick in the nuts, he wasn't willing to do _that_ again, so a woman's argument about childbirth being more painful pretty much disintegrated in Puck's mind - but that was it, everything had happened around them, to them, they hadn't had to do anything. This time it was much more real. And terrifying. Crap. Puck made the call and then hurried back to Quinn's bedside. "Hey," he said as he interrupted Quinn's monologue with the baby on the monitor. "He can't answer you," he teased, Quinn blushed.

"I know, but I was just telling him how lucky he is to have a daddy like you, one who will love him, no matter what, one who will never let him feel like he's inadequate, like he's let you down, no matter if he's good at sports or not," Quinn said through her tears. She sniffed and tried to get herself back under control. What she was really worrying about and afraid to put into words was, she was scared that the issues with the cord and the leg had already created problems, problems that they wouldn't be able to see until he started crawling and walking.

"I love him already because he's our son," Puck assured Quinn, he felt that it was her that needed the reassurance more than the child still within her womb. "Beth would like to...oh, here she is," he said, just as the door opened and Beth's head appeared in the gap.

"Hi, sorry I didn't call, but I just needed to see that you're both ok," Beth said from the doorway.

"Come on in," Quinn invited and pushed herself to sit up in the bed, she had been laid on her side, just staring at the monitor, watching her son in his last few hours inside her. "Shelby, hi," she added as the older woman came in too. "You're both very welcome," she assured them.

"It is tangled, isn't it?" Beth murmured as she stared intently at the monitor, looked at the loops around her brother's skinny little leg. "Will it come off?" she asked.

"We don't know, but that is why Dr Wen wants Finn to be born tomorrow," Puck replied, he knew that Quinn was struggling to keep the emotions in check.

"Look at that face," Shelby breathed as she leaned closer to the monitor. "Oh. My. God. Noah Puckerman the second," she said and turned to glance at Puck over her shoulder. "He looks more like you now," she told Puck. "Don't you think so?" she asked Quinn and took her hand very gently. Quinn nodded and tried to laugh a little, grateful for Shelby and the distractions that she was using to dispel the tension and the worry that was in the room.

"Hi," Ruth called from the doorway. "Room for two more?" she asked as she and Judy came in together. "We met in the elevator," she explained as Judy bent to kiss Quinn's cheek. "I wish we were still allowed to bring flowers into hospitals," Ruth grumbled. "All these rooms look so stark, a few bunches of flowers would make all the difference."

"Well, nana, you know that flowers are banned in all hospitals all over the country because so many people have allergies," Beth explained.

"I know, sweetie," Ruth sighed and hugged Beth. "But they did always make the place look nicer," she repeated. Quinn was so glad of the conversation and the distraction, she was feeling far more at ease than she had when she had been in the room alone, waiting for Puck to come. "Are you staying over with Quinn?" Ruth asked and glanced at her son.

"Yep, already arranged. Paternity leave arranged, although it doesn't officially begin until tomorrow," he explained and counted on his fingers. "Ok, so moms informed, I assume that you two have contacted Becks and Frannie, right?" he asked and looked at both Ruth and Judy, they both nodded. "Dads, well, we'll tell them after the event, they won't want to be here and to be honest, I don't want them here," he muttered.

"You just want to be the only guy," Beth interrupted.

"Damn straight," Puck shot back the reply with a grin and then continued on his mental checklist. "Rachel and Mercedes, done, they'll tell everyone else. Santana, managed to catch her before she went on stage, erm, Sam, I saw him just as I got here, he was bringing a suspect in for treatment before he locks him up and I think that's everyone, did I miss anyone?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Quinn replied and snuggled in to Puck as he settled back against her pillows with his arm around her shoulder.

"Cool, so, what time are you all getting out of here?" Puck asked a little rudely although he was teasing. "We have to get some sleep tonight, otherwise that's it, that's us, no more sleeping till he leaves home to go to college," he joked.

"You got that right," Shelby snorted with laughter and a glance at her daughter.

"Hey," Beth cried in mock outrage, "I resent that, I don't give you any sleepless nights at all," she said piously. "But I'm sure I can start once I go to college," she grinned evilly. Puck, Quinn and Shelby all looked at each other in horror and gulped. Beth smirked and wink at Ruth and Judy.

"Is this the point where we mention something about payback?" Judy asked Ruth.

"I believe it probably is," Ruth replied in the most self-satisfied way.

Later, once everyone had left and Puck and Quinn were on their own, they managed to soothe each other's fears and even managed to sleep.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad we went to see Quinn tonight," Beth sighed as Shelby brought her a cup of hot chocolate.<p>

"Me too, sweetie," Shelby replied as she sat on the couch with Beth and lifted her feet up into her lap.

"You know that I really love you, don't you, mom?" Beth said, a touch worried that her mother would think that she didn't. "I mean, I know I haven't said it for a while and I know I haven't been totally nice for a while but I think I'm over that, maybe it was just all hormones, you know?" she said, trying hard to find an excuse for herself, even though, deep down, she knew she didn't have one.

"Beth, my darling," Shelby said as she turned to look at her daughter, "I know that you love me, and I know that I love you more than anything else in the world, and I am just as sure that you love Quinn and Puck, too and honestly sweetie, I'm ok with that, I admit, I wasn't, but now I am, alright?" she said and tucked Beth's hair behind her ear.

"I'm glad," Beth sighed and gave her mom a beautiful smile, "I'm glad because I want to carry on spending time with them, I want them to always be in my life, they are important to me, same as Finn is going to be," she said and then sniffed, "but they won't ever be more important than you," she assured Shelby. "Same importance, but not more," she clarified.

Shelby laughed and leaned over to hug Beth. "That's alright, baby girl," she murmured into Beth's hair. "I think that's how it should be," she decided.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied, the author does not make any profit from this work of fiction.**

**A/N: Hello, I'm your big sister...**

"Time is it?" Quinn asked with her hand over her mouth to cover the yawn.

"Six thirty," Puck replied from the chair beside the bed. "Do you need anything?" he asked, instantly ready to bring Quinn anything that she might require or just fancy for a second.

"The bathroom," Quinn muttered to herself as she struggled to get out of the hospital bed. Puck assisted her then watched her ass as she waddled into the en suite bathroom, even as pregnant as that, she still turned him on. Quinn returned to her room a few minutes later. "What time did the nurse say they were taking me to the OR?" she asked, although Puck knew that Quinn knew full well, he also knew that she was incredibly nervous.

"Eight," Puck reminded her. "Now get back up there and re-attach that monitor, I want to see Finn, say good morning," he said and kissed her as he helped her back into bed. "Hey," he said as he answered his phone. "You're awake early," he said with a grin. "She's fine, she's awake, do you want to talk to her?" he asked. "Beth," he told Quinn and handed his phone over.

"Hi, sweetie," Quinn said with a smile, she was determined to be positive today, her son was going to be born today and right at this very second, it looked like he was waving to them from the imaging screen, as though he knew he was going to meet them soon. "No, I'm looking at him right now, he looks like he's waving," she told Beth. "Absolutely, of course, if your mom agrees," she replied, touched that Beth wanted to be nearby to see the baby as soon as he was born. "Hi, Shelby," Quinn said, Puck realised that Beth had passed the phone over. "Of course, we would love for you and Beth to be here, I mean, obviously we'll be in the OR, but I'm getting an epidural so I'll be awake through the whole thing," she explained. Quinn listened for a few moments. "We'll see you soon then, that would be perfect, I'm sure Puck will appreciate that, thanks, see you soon," she said, smiling as she ended the call.

"What will I appreciate?" Puck asked as he took his phone back and automatically checked his messages, emails and a couple of missed calls. "Crap, stuff here from Rachel, she's flying in to Lima this afternoon," he sighed. Puck looked intently at Quinn. "What do we do?" he asked. "Do we say nothing and let her believe that Finn just made a donation to Sue?" he asked. "Or do we tell her the truth, just in case it ever comes out later, I mean, if you knew something important like that and didn't tell me, it'd kill me," he sighed. He really didn't know what to do for the best, because Finn had flat out lied to Rachel about it, and he'd never said a word to Puck even though they'd had many a heart to heart while sharing that dorm room, Puck only knew about it because of the sleep talking and he was a bit hurt, actually, he thought they'd been totally honest with each other. One of the things that they'd talked about was firsts, like who they'd lost their virginity to. Puck had admitted that Santana had been his first and Finn had told Puck that Rachel had been his, he'd actually said she'd been his first and only. Was it because he didn't want anyone to know about the Sue thing or had he deliberately blocked it from his mind because it had been so horrific?

"We say nothing," Quinn replied, she'd given it a lot of thought through the long, lonely hours of the night that she had been unable to sleep, she'd thought about a million things, anything to keep from thinking about the things that could go wrong between then and the time that Dr Wen made his incision. "And you'll appreciate Beth and Shelby coming here for a while because they're bringing breakfast." she added.

"Are you sure?" Puck asked. "Not about breakfast," he said with a roll of his eyes when Quinn raised one of her eyebrows, "about Rachel, I mean, won't she throw a diva fit if she finds out we knew and didn't tell her?"

"Maybe, but we'll just be honest with her, tell her we thought we were protecting her, she can be pissed or she can accept it," Quinn answered with a shrug. "And now I need to pee again," she sighed. "Finnian Jonas Puckerman, you are really pressing on my bladder," she told the screen. Puck could have sworn the baby's face twitched, almost like he'd heard her, almost like he'd smiled. Puck rolled his eyes at his own fanciful-ness, Lord he was tired, he was really beginning to imagine things.

* * *

><p>"I'm fine," Quinn answered Puck, although her voice quivered and he could feel her hand tremble in his.<p>

"Blue suits you," Puck murmured teasingly against the back of her hand as he brought it to his lips to kiss it again, he was sat on a low stool at the head end of the operating table. "Just a few minutes, now," he said as his stomach turned over. Puck glanced at the blue screen that was between them and their view of Quinn's stomach. Over the top of the screen, they could see the nurses, Dr Wen and a couple of other people who were in the OR with them, well, they could see their heads at any rate. Puck watched how intensely Dr Wen was staring, working. He gulped as Dr Wen straightened up and looked over the screen.

"And here he is, Baby Puckerman, safe and sound," he announced as he held the baby up for Puck and Quinn to see. The instant Dr Wen turned the baby over, so that he was face down across the doctor's hand, looking at his parents, the baby cried, his little limbs shivering with the effort it took. "All is well, he's going to get cleaned up, go through a few checks, but he'll be with you in a moment, alright?" he said and passed him over to a colleague. Dr Wen went to work closing Quinn up.

"There you go, daddy," the nurse said a few moments later - though it had felt like a lifetime to Puck and Quinn - as she handed the baby to Puck for him to hold close to Quinn's face. Quinn couldn't speak, she was too overcome with emotion, with relief. All of her prayers had been answered, her son was safe, he was healthy and there didn't seem to be any adverse effects from the umbilical issues. The only thing that could make this day any better would be for Beth to be with them right at this very second.

"Perfect," Puck sighed and leaned over to kiss the baby's cheek. "Just like you," he added and leaned further to kiss Quinn. "You're amazing," he told her before his voice broke, he couldn't hold back the flood of tears that surged up, he was so relieved that the baby was fine, that Quinn was fine, he didn't think he could ever ask for more.

"I love you, so much," Quinn managed to say through her tears. "Both of you, all of you, I love you, Finn and Beth, so much," she told Puck and he knew that she meant it.

* * *

><p>Quinn was back in her room, her operation over with, she was still numbed, she couldn't feel a thing except excitement at having her son beside her in a specially adapted crib. It was similar to the clear plastic crib that Beth had been placed in, but it had a specially heated mattress to keep Finnian's temperature at the right level and it also had built in sensors so that alarms sounded at the nurses' station if he needed help in any way. So far, the only thing he'd needed was the gentle flow of oxygen into the crib so that he was breathing oxygen rich air, but he hadn't needed any help to actually breathe. He was doing really well.<p>

"I didn't think breastfeeding would be that difficult," Quinn grumbled. "I thought I'd just hold him there and he'd know what to do," she pouted.

"It's something that has to be taught, it's not all instinct," the lactation nurse replied with a smile. "But you both did well," she praised. "And don't forget, he is only tiny, he's not going to take much at a time, little and often, don't get regimented with the time, feed on demand, when he's hungry, feed him, that's how your supply will adapt to what he needs," she reminded Quinn of the things she'd been told in her Lamaze class. "And just make sure you're holding him well, that he latches on well, and you'll be fine. There's a few of us," she told Quinn, "and any time you feel that you need support, just call us and we'll come and help," she assured them before she left the room.

* * *

><p>"He is so perfect," Beth whispered as she leaned over to look at her little brother. The blue gown looked huge on her, she tugged the sleeves up a little more. "When can I hold him?" she asked, almost desperate to touch him, to feel him, to feel someone else who shared exactly the same blend of DNA that she did. "Do you know what's amazing?" she said as her eyes followed every curve, every line, traced the whole of his tiny body.<p>

"What?" Quinn asked, her eyes were full of tears as she watched her two children together.

"That even though we were made by exactly the same people, even though we have the very same genes, we are so different," Beth said then smiled at Quinn. "I mean, I look so much like you, Grandma Judy said that she has to think when she sees a picture, she has to remember who wore what," she said and rolled her eyes, she thought Judy was probably exaggerating a little. "And just look at Finn, even now, already, you can see he looks exactly like Puck, like I got all of your genes and he got all of Puck's," she explained. "It's a good job he's cute," she added and tilted her head at Puck, waited for her sly insult to catch up with him.

"Hey," Puck called, pretending to be hurt by Beth's remark. He stood beside Beth, his arm around her shoulder and hugged her close as they both looked at the baby. "He is pretty gorgeous, isn't he?" he sighed with pride. "I think we did good," he told Quinn, "both times," he added then kissed Beth's head.

"May we come in?" Ruth asked from the doorway, they'd waited outside to allow Beth a few moments alone with the new family, they all knew that she needed that to feel part of something special.

"Of course," Puck replied and went to the door to greet his mom, his sister, his mother-in-law, Shelby and rather strangely, his father.

"Russell will come by later," Judy said in a voice that totally betrayed her annoyance with the man. "He's playing golf, apparently, and that is obviously way more important than meeting his first grandson," she bitched quietly. Ruth gave an understanding, soothing, sort of agreeing sound, she got it, she understood why Judy was pissed. She herself was amazed that her ex had shown up already.

"_You're_ here and that's the important part," Quinn told her mom, reaching out a hand to her, she hoped that the recent good relationship would last, she really wanted it to. "And it's his loss," she reminded everyone. "So, here he is, Finnian Jonas Puckerman," she announced as Puck lifted their son from his crib. Quinn held out her arms and loved that feeling when Puck placed the baby in them, when he gave her the child that they'd longed for. "So, what do you think?" she asked shyly. "Isn't he just cute?"

"He's gorgeous," Rebecca sighed and touched the baby's hand gently. "How are you?" she asked Quinn and nodded towards her stomach, towards the wound that she knew was there.

"Fine, I'm still numb from the epidural," Quinn replied, although that numbness was beginning to wear off a little. "I'd rather have had him naturally, but the risk was too great," she said as Judy, now that she was gowned up, took the baby from her.

"He is so beautiful," Judy sighed and wiped away a tear. "You really do make beautiful babies," she told Quinn with a smile towards Beth. "Congratulations," she added and passed the baby over to Ruth who had also donned a blue gown.

"Congratulations, son," Nate Puckerman said as he slapped Puck on the back. "He's a tiny one, right?" he asked, he wasn't really sure, babies weren't his thing at all. To be honest, neither were full-grown children, at least not if they were his, and if his family ever found out about his other son, Nate was sure they'd disown him altogether. Still, Jake wasn't interested in meeting the rest of his family either, so Nate could live with that.

"He's four weeks early," Puck reminded his dad. "But he's perfect, right?" he murmured as he took the baby back from his mom. "And I think he's getting hungry again," he said as the baby began to fuss. "There you go, mommy, do your stuff," he said to Quinn as he laid the baby across her lap. "Do you want me to get the nurse for you?" he asked as Quinn looked panic-stricken.

"Yes, please," Quinn whispered. She gulped, she blushed, she glanced around the room. Quinn had no idea how she was going to feed her child in front of all these people.

"Oh, oh," Nate suddenly cried. "Do you want us to leave?" he asked, he would be rather relieved to escape to be honest.

"Dad, she's ok with having the ladies present," Puck replied as he guided his dad out, "but she probably doesn't want a guy staring at her boobs," he grinned as they walked down the corridor toward the nurses' station, "especially not her father-in-law."

"Hi there," the friendly nurse said as the two men approached.

"Hi, is Wendy here?" Puck asked, looking around for the nurse who had helped Quinn earlier.

"Hi," Wendy said, appearing suddenly from the left. "Does Quinn need a little more support?" she asked.

"Yes, please," Puck replied and smiled at the other nurses too. "I'm going to take my dad for coffee," he added, indicating his father at his side, "the ladies are in there with Quinn, but she says she's cool with them being present," he explained. "Dad, coffee?" he suggested and led the way to the cafeteria.

* * *

><p>"I just need to check the wound," Dr Wen said as he ushered everyone except Puck out of the room. "So, how are you feeling?" he asked as he washed his hands.<p>

"Tired," Quinn replied. "But energised too," she added. "The numbness has almost worn off and I don't want too much pain relief because of breastfeeding," she said.

"Hmm, there's various forms of pain relief, some are more effective than others, but there are some that won't have as much effect on baby as others, I'll write you up for one of those," Dr Wen assured her.

"Thank you," Quinn said quietly as the doctor checked out her wound.

"Looking fine," Dr Wen said as he redressed the surgical scar. "And now let me check out this young man," he said as he removed his gloves and washed his hands again. "One second," he said as he pulled on another pair of latex gloves. "He seems to be coping rather well," he said with a smile at Puck. "Did you decide on a name for him yet?" he asked.

"We chose his name a while ago, this is Finnian Jonas Puckerman," Puck announced.

"I'm so very pleased to make your acquaintance, Finnian Jonas," Dr Wen said softly. "You are going to be a very happy little boy, I can feel it," he said quietly, it was one of the things that Dr Wen liked to say to the new babies, he hoped it was something that would stay with them forever.

* * *

><p>"Hello," Rachel said quietly as she poked her head around the door.<p>

"Hi," Puck whispered, he was conscious that Quinn and the baby were both asleep and he didn't want to wake them. "How are you?" he asked as he kissed Rachel's cheek. "Want to go for coffee?" he asked, he'd rather let Quinn sleep for a while longer.

"So how was it?" Rachel asked once they were sat in the cafeteria. "I can't imagine being in the same room when you know a surgeon is performing an operation, I mean, gross," she shuddered.

"It wasn't gross," Puck swiftly denied. "It was kind of awesome, actually," he said. "We couldn't see anything, there was a screen between us and the doctor, but it was really cool for Quinn to be awake, for us both to be able to see Finn the second he was out," he said and remembered the moment again, it was probably one of the things that he would never, ever forget, at least, he hoped it was. "Like, when Beth was born, when she came out, I missed it, because I was grossed out so I turned away for a second and if you ever tell Quinn that I will deny it," he quickly put in, "so I didn't see either of them actually exit her body," he realised, "that makes me feel a little better," he mused. "So, how have you been?" he asked then picked up his coffee to sip it.

"Erm, I've been good," Rachel answered after a moment to consider. "I mean, now that I've met Robyn, now that I know her, even just a little, I feel like Finn is close again," she said. "Does that make sense?" she asked.

"I think it kind of does," Puck agreed. "Oh, my phone, Quinn's awake and asking where I am, good job we got these to go," he said with a nod towards the tall paper cups.

"I'm excited to meet little Finn," Rachel cried excitedly as they both stood and left the cafeteria. "Does he still look like you now that he's here?" she asked.

"I think he does," Puck grinned, proud that his son looked so much like him that no one would need to ask who's his daddy. Puck opened the door and preceded Rachel into the room, just to make sure that Quinn was prepared for a visitor. "Rachel's here," he announced, Quinn smiled and tried to shuffle herself into a more comfortable position.

"Rachel, hi," Quinn cried as Rachel reached to hug her. "Careful," she hissed as she felt the tug on her wound far more than she had earlier. "Wow, natural has c-section beat by a long shot," she carefully told Puck as she lay back down.

"Still in a lot of pain?" Puck asked, his face showing his sympathy. "I'll go see if there's anything they can do for you, alright?" he said and dropped a kiss on her head before leaving Rachel and Quinn to talk.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Shelby," Rachel said when Shelby answered the door. "Are you sure you want me to stay with you?" she asked before she stepped inside. Actually, Rachel felt a little awkward, she'd never stayed with Shelby before, ever, or, certainly not in her memory.<p>

"I'm positive," Shelby replied and drew Rachel in to hug her. "Beth can't wait," she told her, "she's hoping for you to dish the dirt on Puck and Quinn," she said loudly and aimed that over her shoulder to where she knew her daughter was lurking, just inside the den.

"I am not," Beth exclaimed with exaggerated innocence. "I'm hoping that you can tell me what was going on while Quinn was pregnant with me," she said, explaining what she was looking for. Beth still wanted to know her roots, she knew who she came from, she knew why she came about, what she didn't know was what was happening around her parents while she was growing, waiting to be born.

"Oh I have lots of stories," Rachel answered. "I am full of information and I never forget a thing," she assured the young smiling girl. "So, what's it like to be a big sister?" she asked.

"It's pretty cool, I guess," Beth shrugged. "Did you see Finn yet? Isn't he cute?" she crooned. "And I got to change his diaper, too," she told Rachel as though she'd had a gift bestowed on her.

"I bet there's going to be lots of times in the future when you run in the other direction if anyone asks you to change his diaper," Rachel laughed and hugged the young girl. "You know, I'm almost like your big sister, right?" she suddenly realised.

"Or like an aunt?" Beth suggested. It was weird to have a sister the same age as her birth parents. She could never have too many aunts though, and so far she only had Rebecca and Frannie. She wouldn't tell Quinn or Puck, but she preferred Rebecca to Frannie, Frannie was far too prim and proper, Rebecca was fun and she was only seven years older than Beth herself.

As Shelby laid the meal out on the table, Rachel and Beth sat together and thanked her, appreciated the effort that she had made. "Did it make you sad when you found my mom and she wasn't the mom that you wanted?" Beth asked Rachel, getting straight to the point as usual.

"Wow, you don't go for the easy shots first, do you?" Rachel asked after she'd choked on a Camembert and cranberry stuffed mushroom. "What did your mom tell you?" she tried to dodge the question by answering with a question.

"She said that she was looking for her baby and you were looking for someone who knew how to be a mom already," Beth replied.

"Actually, I think that about sums it up," Rachel agreed. "I found what I was looking for in Finn's mom, Carole, and Shelby found what she was looking for in you, so we were both winners," she added with a warm smile at Shelby. "But I'm glad we've been able to connect, to get to know each other," she added, and she was, even though it had only been infrequently until recently, until Beth had wanted to find Puck and Quinn, and Rachel was thankful for that.

"She's my friend's grandmother," Beth announced. "My friend, Robyn, she's her granddaughter, it's weird, we've both always just had moms and no other family and now we've both got grandparents, we've got aunts, uncles, it's weird how things work out, isn't it?" she asked.

"It really is, and I'm glad that Carole and Burt have her," Rachel said as she reached over and covered Beth's hand. "I think they really needed her," she said.

"I think they did too," Shelby agreed as she sat down to serve her own meal.

* * *

><p>Rachel managed to tell Beth many of the stories, the things that had happened during their first glee year, from the initial discovery of Quinn's pregnancy, when the whole world was under the impression that Finn was the baby's father, to her own growing suspicion that the daddy was actually Puck. "See, I came to that conclusion when I watched him sing, have you ever heard him sing?" she asked Beth.<p>

"Only in the car, is he good?" Beth asked.

"Wow, yes, he's good," Shelby and Rachel replied at the same time, their expressive faces giving power to their words. "Anyway, I used to watch Quinn while she watched Puck when he was singing and you could see it in her face," she explained, "you could see that she loved him, see that there was a spark between them and when Puck looked at her, it was like there was electricity zipping between them," she said and snuggled into the sofa opposite Beth and Shelby who were snuggled together on the other sofa. "And Finn, poor Finn, he was oblivious," she smiled and rolled her eyes, remembering back to the boy that she had loved. "There were so many times he almost caught them together, I can't tell you, I used to encourage him to go find Puck or go find Quinn because I knew they would be together and I was jealous, I wanted to be with Finn, I was the one who loved him, Quinn didn't, she loved Puck but she was afraid because of his reputation," she told the young girl. Beth sipped her hot chocolate and listened avidly. "See, Puck had a reputation with the ladies, the older ladies," Rachel confided.

"Like Finn with Robyn's mom?" Beth asked.

"Oh, no, not like that," Rachel giggled. "No, Puck used to actually errm...he used to...ermm," she suddenly stuttered to a stop, she wasn't sure exactly how much detail an almost thirteen-year-old should know.

"Yes, like Finn," Beth insisted. "Robyn's mom paid him, he got paid to sleep with her to get her pregnant," she announced as though the entire world already knew it. Rachel blanched, her shock was evident, slowly, her eyes traced their way to Shelby, silently begging her to refute the statement.

"Rachel," Shelby said and reached out to her daughter, and Rachel knew, with that one word, she knew, she knew that every word that Beth had just said was the truth. And she died a little inside...


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied, the author does not make any profit from this work of fiction.**

**A/N: We are family...**

Rachel flew up from the sofa and rushed out of the room. "Is it my fault?" Beth asked, she didn't intentionally want to upset anyone, she really thought that Rachel already knew. "Was it what I said?"

"No, baby, it...it...I should have told her already," Shelby reassured Beth. "I'll go talk to her, you just stay here," she urged her daughter. Shelby quickly mounted the stairs and found Rachel hurriedly thrusting her clothes into the small suitcase she'd brought with her. "Rachel, please," Shelby begged, she didn't want her to go like this, she'd only just found her again.

"Shelby, you all lied to me," Rachel sighed and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. "Who all knows about this?" she asked quietly, worriedly, she was embarrassed about it. Rachel allowed her eyes to connect with her mother's. "You _all_ knew, all of you? Carole? Puck? Quinn?" she asked and saw the truth in Shelby's eyes. "Oh my God, why didn't any of you tell me?" she demanded, her voice rising as she began to cry in earnest.

"We wanted to protect you," Shelby admitted, it was the first thing that popped to mind but it was also the truth, they had all wanted to preserve Rachel's memories of Finn, they didn't want to tarnish them for her in any way.

"Protect me?" Rachel cried. "Protect me from what?" she demanded. "I'm almost thirty years old, you don't get to protect me," she exclaimed. "If you wanted to protect me you should have stuck around when I was born," she shouted cruelly and snatched up her bag. "I'm going to my dads'," she announced as she left the room and ran down the stairs.

"Rachel, I'm sorry," Beth said quietly, just as Rachel pulled the front door open. "I didn't mean to upset you," she told her honestly.

"Beth, I know that you didn't," Rachel replied kindly, without looking back at the young girl. "But I need some time to absorb this, to work this out in my head, you know?" she said.

"I know," Beth assured Rachel. And the sad fact was, Beth did know all about needing time to figure things out, she'd just done all that with Puck and Quinn, and there were still sometimes that she had to take a step back and remember that it wasn't all fabulous. "But don't blame Robyn, ok?" she urged. "It's not her fault."

"No, I know it isn't," Rachel managed to say before she choked on the sob that tried to escape. She hurried to her hire car and threw the bag in before climbing in and driving to her dads' house. "Anyone home?" she called when she let herself in. "Hello?" she shouted and felt depressed when she remembered that her dads were at a father/father convention in Toledo, which was why she'd elected to stay with Shelby in the first place. Rachel spun around when the doorbell rang.

"Rachel?" Carole Hummel called. "Rachel, it's me, please let me in, I need to talk to you," she added hopefully.

"Well I don't want to talk to anyone," Rachel answered silently. "Why don't you all just leave me alone to work through this?" she asked without a sound.

"Rachel?" Carole called again. "Rachel, I know you're in there, I saw you go in, please, will you just come and talk to me, I have something for you, something from Finn," she said to tempt Rachel to open the door.

"What do you have?" Rachel asked when she cracked open the door.

"A letter, a letter from Finn," Carole said quickly and lifted the envelope up for Rachel to see. Rachel opened the door wider to allow Carole in. "Here, he left this for you, in case you ever found out about Robyn," she explained and thrust the letter towards Rachel.

Rachel walked into the lounge on wobbly legs, she plopped down onto the sofa and felt sick as she opened the envelope. "My Darling Rachel," she read out and then her voice broke, she read the rest to herself. "If you're reading this then it means that you know the truth, you know what I did and I am so sorry. Don't get me wrong, I'm not apologising for my daughter, I'm actually kind of proud of my contribution to that event, I sort of feel like it made up for having Beth taken away from me like she was, although that sounds stupid but I promised myself I would start this letter only once and I wouldn't cross anything out so if it starts to ramble, sorry, but I'm a bit spaced.

"And that's something else I have to admit to, the drugs. I'm sorry about that too, but it wasn't totally my fault, well, it was, I was just going to use circumstances and other people as an excuse, but that's the coward's way out. I guess if you are reading this, it means that I misjudged too, my dad said I probably would at least once, he's OD'd a ton of times but he's always had someone around him to help him out, let's hope Puck knows what to do if he finds me. I guess we all thought it would be Puck that would go down this route, not me, everyone always thought I was too goody-goody to go bad, but hey, what do you know? Maybe it's true, maybe the quiet ones are the worst.

"You know, it's really cool sharing a dorm with Puck. I mean, I know he doesn't actually go to college and God knows who people think he is, but this is like every camp I ever wanted to go to when I was growing up and Puck is like the brother I never had. Don't get me wrong, Kurt is a cool brother, but he's never going to bring five girls back to the dorm to share, now is he? Well, Puck doesn't exactly share, but I get involved and that's probably more than you need to know. Anyway, back to why I was writing this. So my daughter just turned two months old, and I just told you about her, but I lied to you, I'm sorry about that, but I didn't think you'd want to know that I had sex with Sue Sylvester, especially when you went to such lengths to make sure that we were both absolutely pure and each others' firsts when you and I slept together for the first time. I'm sorry I lied to you, actually, I lied to Puck too, I pretended to be asleep and talked about it, but I told him the same jerking off story that I told you. I wish there was a better excuse but there isn't, the only reason I did it was because Sue said that she was going to tell everyone about the drugs and I couldn't live with that, well, that was the first time anyway, after that it just got easier, she was a body and I used her as much as she used me and I can't believe how long this letter is, I didn't think I had that many words in me, is there even a period or a comma in this thing? Do I have to go back and check my spellings and stuff? Will it ever matter? I don't care, anyway, I just felt like I had to put my thoughts down on paper, I wrote one to my mom too, I'll hide them in my bedroom at home, behind the loose baseboard next to my bathroom, like you didn't already know that if this letter is in your hands and if it's not you, if it's someone a million years in the future reading this, wow, greetings from 2013, cool, dude, do you still wear pants in the future or is everyone naked? And if you are all naked, how do you control the boners? I think I need to sleep now, my new dealer cuts his stuff with something different, makes me feel weird, going now, bye Rach, I love you, don't hate me."

"Does it ramble as much as the one I got did?" Carole asked.

"It makes sense at the beginning," Rachel replied warily, she wasn't sure how much of this stuff Carole knew.

"Does he tell you about the drugs as well as Robyn?" Carole asked. "He told me a lot of stuff, about his dad too, stuff that I didn't know before, stuff I wish I still didn't know," she admitted. Rachel nodded. "I swear I didn't know, I truly didn't, not until you and Quinn told me about Robyn and then just last week, Burt and Blaine were talking about remodelling Finn's room, apparently they think I've kept it as a shrine for too long, not that I think I've kept it as a shrine, I haven't, I mean, I've kept a few of his things," she shrugged.

"A few?" Rachel asked with her eyebrow raised to emphasise her question.

"Fine, so I've kept all the boxes we packed up just after he died and I never found the heart to redecorate," Carole admitted and pulled a face at herself. "Ok, so it was a shrine," she sighed. "But anyway, when Burt pulled a loose baseboard off, they found these letters, there was one for me, one for you and one for Robyn," she told Rachel with a sniff and a few more tears. "I haven't given Robyn hers yet," she added. "I don't know how much of a good idea it is."

"Maybe you should read this one, see if there's anything in there that coincides with the letter you got," Rachel suggested. "And maybe the best way would be for the three of us to get together, to support each other, for the two of us to support Robyn."

"Thank you," Carole managed to say, to almost say as her voice cracked.

* * *

><p>"I think she was really mad at me," Beth pouted.<p>

"Come here," Quinn murmured and held an arm out to welcome Beth onto her bed. Beth climbed up and allowed Quinn to comfort her. "She'll be fine," she reassured the young girl, "it was probably just a shock to her, but she'll be fine. For a long time she thought she knew one thing and she'd come to terms with that and now it turns out that the thing is not what she thought, it's bound to be a shock, but she'll get over it," Quinn said with a certainty she felt was justified, Rachel damn well would get over it. Beth didn't say anything, she just sniffed and nodded and allowed Quinn's warmth and maternal love to wash over her.

"You could take diaper duty to take your mind off stuff," Puck suggested with a slightly pleading look in his eyes.

"No thanks," Beth sighed and hid a grin as she turned her face into Quinn. "He might be cute, but right now he smells really bad," she whispered and made Quinn chuckle.

"It's your job right now," Quinn insisted to Puck, "I just fed him, you get to clean him up," she reminded him. Puck pouted and got to work, the faces he pulled said it all. "Good choice, Beth," Quinn murmured to her.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure my dad wrote this for me?" Robyn asked nervously, she glanced at both Carole and Rachel, they both nodded. Robyn breathed in deeply, as though she was steeling herself to face something traumatic. Slowly, she tore the envelope open. Carole had a sudden moment of panic, she wished with all her heart that she'd opened it and given Robyn the letter - minus the envelope - once she'd read it, once she'd made sure that it didn't contain anything to hurt the vulnerable young girl.<p>

"To my beautiful daughter," Robyn read aloud in a quivering voice, she paused, laughed a little nervously, then glanced back at the page. "You can tell this was written a long time ago," she mumbled and pushed her glasses up her nose then turned back to the letter.

"I met you today. Your mom invited me to meet you and it was an awesome experience. I held you, I fed you and I even changed your diaper, although that wasn't quite so awesome, and your mom is going to work out visitation for us. I mean, I know I agreed when she first asked me, I agreed that I would never contact you, I would never make myself known to you, but that's just impossible. See, the whole time you were growing inside your mom, I could see you at school all the time and it made me feel close to you, and then once I graduated and afterwards, when you were born, that all disappeared because I wasn't near you everyday, and I missed that. I haven't told anyone the real truth of how you came to be, I mean, I told Rachel - that's Rachel Berry and by the time you read this letter, she'll be a big Broadway star - but I told her the same story that your mom told people, that she was artificially inseminated, but she wasn't, there is nothing artificial in the way you were created, you are all real, and she wanted you so much, she longed for you. And in a way, I kind of did too, like maybe I knew you would be my only chance at making something special out of something not so special.

"Robyn, I want you always to remember that I love you like any father would love his child and you are totally awesome, and maybe someday we can even tell your grandma about you. Love you, love, your dad xx"

"He really loved me?" Robyn asked as tears began to roll down her face.

"He really did," Carole confirmed quietly.

"And it wasn't just for the money?" Robyn queried.

"I don't think so," Rachel replied with a sniff, she laid her hand over Robyn's trembling one. "I think he saw an opportunity to do something unique for someone, and the good in him wouldn't let him refuse," she explained. "And the end result is something so amazing that I'm glad he did it, I'm glad that you're here, Robyn, because you are all the best of him, the most precious part of him and we all love you so very, very much."

Robyn threw herself into her grandmother's arms and sobbed, she wasn't crying because she was sad, she was crying because she was happy and for the first time in her life, she felt like she truly belonged.

* * *

><p>"Don't you think it's been a weird year?" Beth asked Robyn, as they helped Puck to get the table in the yard ready for their combined Memorial Day gathering.<p>

"I think it's been the weirdest year ever," Robyn agreed. "I mean, look at all that's happened," she said as they both sat down on the grass, leaving Puck to finish off alone. "You found out that you were adopted," she said listing the first thing that had blown the world apart.

"And then I met my birth parents," Beth said, holding up two fingers to begin listing. "And I met my mom's daughter and my grandparents," she said, putting a third finger up. "Then there was you finding out about your dad and your grandparents," she added, sticking a fourth finger up.

"Yeah," Robyn sighed with a smile on her face. "And you got a cute baby brother," she said a touch enviously, only just a touch, she didn't, like, want her mom to have another baby or anything, she just wished that she had a sibling too.

"I did," Beth replied with an even bigger smile. "I got aunts and uncles too," she said, lifting yet another finger. "And even Puck's dad has turned out ok in the grandpa stakes," she murmured and showed Robyn the pretty silver butterfly necklace that Nate had given her to celebrate the fact that she was reunited with her birth family. "Quinn's dad is a total loss, but then again, he isn't that good with Finn, either, you know what he bought for the baby when he was born?" she said in disgust. "Savings Bonds," she announced as though Russell had presented baby Finn with a snake to play with. Puck couldn't help but grin as he overheard the two girls. "I think the best part of this year has been all the new family that we've both gotten," Beth said decisively as she stood and dusted off her backside. "I mean, this time last year it was just you and your mom and it was just me and my mom and now we both have more relatives than we know what to do with, but you know what?" she asked and squinted up at the sky.

"What?" Robyn asked as she too stood up.

"I wouldn't change anything," Beth said as she glanced around at the various people who were suddenly milling around. "I mean, if we'd always had these people in our lives, we'd take them for granted, wouldn't we?"

"I suppose so," Robyn replied and pondered Beth's theory. "But because we didn't have big families and now we do we appreciate them more?" she answered in a sort of questioning way.

"Exactly," Beth sighed happily, totally satisfied with her lot. "We appreciate all of them, even the ones who aren't with us," she added a touch sadly for Robyn. "And Rachel's brought those DVDs with her," she suddenly remembered, "the ones of Finn, the original Finn," she quickly corrected herself, in case Robyn thought they were DVDs of baby Finn. "So later, we'll watch DVDs of your dad, how cool is that?" she asked Robyn with excitement, she was looking forward to seeing them herself, Rachel had told her there was something special for her to watch on one of them, something about Puck and Quinn and the way the camera never lies or something.

* * *

><p>"Oh. My. God, would you look at my hair?" Quinn cried and almost startled baby Finn into letting go of her nipple. "Look at you, with you head all shaved," she crooned to Puck. "Wasn't that when you were convinced he had skin cancer?" she asked Ruth laughingly.<p>

"Not really," Ruth replied, "I just had a fabulous idea of how to get rid of the mohawk for a while," she added and lifted her wine glass in salute to her son. "Yeah, I perhaps should have kept that to myself, shouldn't I?" she muttered.

"You mean you knew?" Puck demanded, astounded that his mom would have willingly caused him pain and suffering like that.

"Of course," Ruth answered quite proudly. "I called Dr Freidlander, asked him to check for moles and told him that you agreed to having your head shaved. And then I pretended to find a mole on your head."

"Look, look at that, oh, how cute," Beth cried as she watched Quinn dancing with Puck at the top of the stepped stage, she could see the love between them, and so could everyone else, Rachel was right, the camera did not lie. "How long is this before I was born?" she asked Puck and Quinn while pointing at the TV.

"About an hour and a half," Quinn replied with a smile at Beth, who was sat beside Robyn on the floor, right in front of the TV. "And you have no idea how much effort it took to keep going through that routine, Sue, thank you," she added only slightly mockingly, "it was only your hard training that gave me the strength to finish it."

"You're welcome," Sue Sylvester murmured, she remembered the night from a different perspective, she'd been one of the judges and she'd been unable to sway the other judges to look past the polished, over-rehearsed performance from Vocal Adrenaline to the sheer raw talent that oozed from the twelve people that they were watching on the TV right now.

"I remember your fingers digging into my shoulder," Puck grumbled. "There you go," he added a few seconds later when the footage showed that, showed Quinn grip into Puck's shoulder as he joined her to finish out Don't Stop Believing. "Remember the next part?" he asked Quinn.

"Oh yes I do," Quinn sighed.

"I do too," Judy murmured and glanced at Quinn with a half smile. "The look of shock on your face was priceless," she giggled, and Quinn had totally been taken by surprise when her water had broken, she hadn't been expecting that at all. "But the shock I got when it wasn't Finn who appeared by your side was even bigger," she said. Puck smiled at Judy and gave a 'but you got me' look. "I know, I know, you're made for each other, you were even then," Judy added and saw her son-in-law nod in agreement. She smiled as Quinn glanced up lovingly into Puck's eyes, saw him look at Quinn with love too. She was happy for both of them, all of them. And she was thankful that she was a part of it all.

"Can we watch it again?" Robyn asked, she'd totally missed what everyone had been saying, talking about because she had concentrated totally on Finn, her dad, Finn. Rachel skipped the DVD back to the beginning, back to where the music had started, back to where Finn walked through the door into the auditorium, back to where Robyn heard him sing. "That's my dad," she whispered almost to herself, Carole watched her granddaughter with proud tears in her eyes, she didn't even attempt to speak, she knew it would have been impossible.

"That's both of our dads," Beth said softly to Robyn as they watched Puck and Finn go through part of the routine together. Beth glanced behind her. "And that's our family," she whispered happily.


End file.
